Daughter of Anarchy
by littlepagangirl
Summary: Ariana is the volatile daughter of the club. When her mutation emerges late at sixteen, she is sent to Xaviers Institute to learn control. But when Abel is kidnapped and she follows the club to Belfast, she is also taken captive by a very different group.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from this story except for Ariana and the plot, and some possible future OC's. **

* * *

"Hand me that wrench over there, would you?" Ariana placed the wrench into an outstretched hand. After a few minutes the young man stood up and grinned at Ariana.

"How are you doing, little sister?" the blond man gave Ariana a hug, which she returned before handing him the cold beer she had brought. He nodded thanks. "Hey Jax. Same as always, y'know how it is. High school," she rolled her eyes. Jax laughed.

"Business a little slow today, huh?" she looked around at the rather vacant interior of the Teller-Morrow garage.

"Yeah, but it gives me time to work on other things," Jax smiled, thinking of his baby son Abel.

"Mind if I stay at your place tonight?" Ariana asked.

"Nah, c'mon. I was just about to head out," Jax tipped his beer and drank the last of it before leading the way to the parking lot outside. He took the helmet from his bike and tossed it to Ariana, who caught it and put it on. He got on and waited for his 'little sister'. As she climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, she muttered almost too low for Jax to hear.

"Can't wait 'till I have my own," she sighed. Jax grinned and revved his bike. They took off and Ariana couldn't help the wide smile that spread across her face.

"Hey, Jax, Aria," Juice greeted the pair as they entered the SOA clubhouse. Ariana nodded.

"Hey brother," Jax replied.

"Clay's called church. I was just about to call you," he said. Jax nodded and they both went into the meeting room. Ariana took a seat on a couch. She pulled a notebook and pencil out of her black and purple plaid messenger bag and went to work on English homework.

**_Inside the SOA meeting…_**

They started with simple things.

"How are Ariana's headaches, Jax?" Clay asked. Jax frowned, though it was true that he was one of the ones who saw the girl most.

"Getting worse. She won't say anything, but I know it's been getting worse for her at school, too. They don't care that she's ours, only that she's a mutant. There's no one here like her," Jax told them. Clay nodded.

"I got a call from a guy called Charles Xavier. He runs that institute up north in New York," he said.

"Thinking of sending her there? You know she won't go, Clay," Tig put in.

"I know, and I told him so. Man said to keep the option open, she might change her mind."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" one of them asked.

"Guess it means if her headaches keep getting worse she'll decide to go. I wouldn't bet on it," Clay said solemnly. Since her arrival three years ago Ariana had found her way into all of their hearts. The conversation slowly moved on from Ariana to more complicated matters.

Ariana, having finished her homework, stood beside the bar and admired the photos on a wall across from her. She was looking at the one of John Teller for what had to have been the hundredth time when another headache hit her. It was stronger than usual and she grabbed the bar to keep upright. She closed her eyes and waited for it to go away, but this time it did not fade.

It pulsed in her temples and behind her eyes, an icy burning sensation that grew steadily worse. Pain lanced up her back and she couldn't hold back a cry. Her back arched of its own volition and her grasp on the counter slipped. She fell to her knees, barely managing to keep her head from hitting a stool. Ariana heard the door to the meeting open and multiple sets of footsteps hurrying toward her. The room danced in front of her and she felt nauseous.

Her vision wavered in and out of blackness as the pain steadily mounted. She could not scream; her muscles were frozen. She felt hands on her back and she was lifted gently into a strong pair of arms. Ariana pressed her face into a large chest and vaguely recognized Jax's oil and musk scent. She gave into the darkness after that, content to drift away in the arms of safety.

* * *

She woke up to see the ceiling spinning above her. She closed her eyes tight. The pain was still there as a dull, throbbing ache behind her eyes. When she opened her eyes a few minutes later, the room grudgingly remained in place. She was glad for the drawn curtains, as the room was dark and shadowed. She was lying on her back in the room she used when she stayed at the clubhouse. Ariana lay still for several minutes before someone carefully opened the door. She glanced over to see who it was.

"Hey baby girl," Gemma smiled gently and entered the room. Ariana attempted a smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. She tried to speak, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Here,' Gemma handed her a small glass of water. Ariana took a few swallows and handed it back.

"Thanks. What happened?" she whispered.

"The boys came out of church when they heard you. They found you beside the bar on your knees. Your head was in your hands and you had your mouth open wide like you were screaming. We think it was one of your headaches. You blacked out after Jax picked you up," she explained.

"Shit, my head still hurts," Ariana groaned.

"Why don't you stay here and rest for a while? One of the prospects will bring you some food," she stood and stroked a hand over Ariana's head before leaving. Ariana turned over and fell into a deep sleep before the Prospect had a chance to bring the food.

* * *

The second time Ariana woke the pain had doubled. She hid her face in her pillow and tried to block out any small sound. Every noise felt like dozens of points of pain digging at the inside of her head. She felt sick, but did not throw up. After nearly fifteen minutes she fell back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Ariana woke for a third time and was relieved to find that the headache was completely gone. Her smile quickly faded, however, when a new pain made itself known. She hurriedly changed into the sweats and sweater that every room kept in multiple sizes and left her room. When she got to the main part of the clubhouse, she saw only two people: Tig and Chibs. She smiled at them and made for the kitchen, but Tig stopped her.

"Sit down, kid, I'll make ya' some lunch," he said in a rare show of tenderness.

"Thanks," Ariana sat in a chair, pulling her legs in and watching as Tig got up and went into the kitchen.

"How are y' doin', lass?" Chibs asked her.

"Headache's gone," she replied.

"Good," Chibs left the issue of the Xavier man unsaid. If it happened again, he knew Clay would make the call. Tig came back ten minutes later bearing scrambled eggs exactly the way Ariana liked them, and bacon and toast with butter and cinnamon. She ate quickly at first, but slowed down almost immediately when her stomach protested the sudden appearance of food. After twenty minutes her stomach had settled and the food was gone. Ariana frowned when she realized she felt tired again. Chibs grinned.

"If y' feel up to it, y' can go to school again t'morrow. Go on and rest now, if you like," he told her. Ariana nodded and retreated to her room.

* * *

Ariana woke up on time the next day, still feeling a bit weak but unwilling to admit it. It had been three days since she had succumbed to the pain, and she was ready to move past it and return to school. She packed her school bag and shoved a bottle of pain medicine deep into one of the pockets. Chibs took her to school on his bike. She made it through most of the morning, but before lunch she found herself needing to take two pain pills. After lunch she took two more. They were the last in the bottle. The pain grew steadily worse over the course of the day, slower than three days ago, but still there. Ariana blacked out during her last class.

"Mutie's out," someone whispered. She had slumped in her chair, her head to one side. Her purple streaked hair fell over her face and her mouth remained slightly open, revealing aspects of her mutation that could not be hidden. Her ears tapered gently to a soft point, elegant and elfin, and her canines were sharpened and slightly elongated to form fangs. It took several minutes for anyone to notice her lack of consciousness. Ariana had worked very hard to appear as though nothing was wrong, and it had worked fairly well. Until that one whispered comment, no one knew. Heads turned, though, and the teacher noticed.

"Wake up, Ariana," she said flatly. Ariana did not move. "I said wake up!" the teacher smacked a fist down on Ariana's desk. Still the mutant girl did not move.

"I don't think she's breathing," a girl sitting next to Ariana said. After confirming that Ariana was not breathing, help was quickly called for. The Sons showed up only minutes after the emergency personnel.

Ariana woke with a pounding headache. She blinked to clear her vision and saw Tara standing over her.

"Tara…" she felt weak and dizzy again.

"You blacked out, Ariana. The school called me," she told her. Ariana opened her mouth to say something else, and then closed it when Jax appeared over her shoulder.

"How many of you are here?" she asked hoarsely.

"Six, including myself and Tara," he replied. Ariana nodded and closed her eyes. She felt the fire in her head begin to die down, and she let herself slip into darkness.

**_At the Xavier Mansion…_**

The phone rang at precisely 5:06 pm. Kitty picked it up on the first ring and answered breathlessly.

"Hello?"

"Is this the Xavier Institute?" the male voice on the other end was not the one she had been expecting.

"Oh. Yes, this is Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, may I ask who's calling?" she questioned, disappointed that the caller had not been Lance. She heard a soft chuckle at the other end of the line.

"I need to speak to the Professor. Tell him it's Clay Morrow," he said.

"Hold one minute, please," Kitty kept any trace of the valley girl out of her voice to sound as professional as possible. She put the call on hold and dialed the Professor's office. It was picked up only moments later.

"Hey Professor, there's, like, some guy on the phone. He said his name is, like, Clay Morrow," she told Xavier.

"Thank you Kitty, I will pick up the call," he replied. Kitty hung up the phone. Rogue looked up from the book she was reading.

"What was that about?" the southerner asked. Kitty shrugged and Rogue went back to reading.

* * *

"No! I am not going to some school across the country!" Ariana was standing in the middle of the clubhouse's main room, yelling at Jax and Clay. The others looked on silently, none daring to enter an argument involving Ariana and the two men.

"Yes, you are," Clay said firmly, already aggravated with her continued denial. "You have to learn how to control whatever this is."

"I don't see why I have to travel across the country for a little control," she growled. There was a slow, steady ache seated in the back of her head that did not go away, and her fey, mismatched eyes sparked with black fire. Jax watched her apprehensively, but the argument, which had started nearly an hour ago, was beginning to wind down. She was close to giving in. Jax was surprised that Clay had lasted this long without blowing up, but Ariana was special to all of them. She was the volatile daughter of the club.

"Baby girl, we all know you don't want to go, but it's the best way we've found to help you. You can be accepted there, at least somewhat, and learn about your abilities in a safe place. One of the boys will go with you; Clay's already made sure of it," Gemma's words were the ones to win her over. Ariana was silent for a few moments, and then she reluctantly nodded agreement.

"Alright, I'll go. But I get to choose who comes with me," Ariana smirked slightly.

"Within reason," Clay nodded.

"Tig," she said, turning to look at the man.

"What? Why me?" he asked, confused.

"You're you," she told him, her smirk growing. Tig shook his head, but grinned at her.

"Alright, little sister," he agreed.

"Done. We'll take you in two days."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I don't have an editor, so I tried to do the best I could. I know it moves a bit fast, too. Review, leave me advice, praise, ideas, and constructive critiscm! I do have something of a plot already planned out and quite a bit already written, but I'm always open to new ideas.**

**~Indigo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer in chapter one. **

**I don't have any reviews yet, but two alerts and one favorite already!**

**Flaca514**

**sarah7174**

**Alive At 2PM**

**animefangirl0219**

**Thanks for reading, and here's another chapter just for you four. If anyone has any ideas, don't hesitate to leave them in a review or send them in a message.**

* * *

Ariana's suitcase was packed in Gemma's car. She was going to ride on the back of Tig's bike, but almost all of them were accompanying her to Bayville, New York. She smiled as she put Tig's helmet on and climbed up behind him. They pulled out of the Teller-Morrow parking lot and left Charming, the sound of the motorcycles a sweet symphony as they rolled down the highway.

* * *

Four days later they stopped at a gas station outside of Bayville.

"We're supposed to be meeting someone from the Institute here," Jax said. It only took a few minutes for a black van accompanied by a Harley with a simple flaming paint job to arrive. Both vehicles parked a short distance from the group of Sons. Everyone stood and gathered in a loose group in front of the bikes, waiting for the representatives.

A bald man in a wheelchair and a tall, dark skinned woman with long white hair exited the van, and a large, muscular man with blue-black hair left the bike. They approached the group and stopped a few feet away. Clay stepped forward.

"You must be Professor Xavier. I'm Clay," he said. Xavier nodded.

"These are my colleagues, Ororo and Logan," Xavier introduced them. Ariana stood between Chibs and Tig, watching the three intently. Introductions were made, saving Ariana for last. After the men and Gemma had been introduced, Ariana stepped forward.

"I'm Ariana," she said, emerald and amethyst eyes bright and dancing with shadowed fire. Tig noticed the set of her shoulders and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Very nice to meet you, Ariana. If I may ask, who is it that will be accompanying you to the school?" Xavier asked.

"Tig is coming with me," she replied, gesturing to the rather intimidating man just behind her. Xavier nodded.

"You'll both be introduced to the rest of the students and staff when we arrive. If you would like to say goodbye?"

"We're all coming, to see just where it is our girl's gonna be," Gemma informed them.

"Just follow us, then," The trio returned to their vehicles, the Sons started their bikes and car, and the procession left the gas station.

* * *

The Institute was on the other side of the city, but it did not take very long to get there. A few students were drawn outside at the sound of so many bikes, and Ariana observed the ones who had appeared silently.

There were three boys and two girls. Both of the girls appeared to be the same age as Ariana. One of the boys was older, and the other two were younger. They stood on the steps and watched the Sons.

The two younger boys and the brown-haired girl seemed shocked. Ariana smirked. She knew her family was unusual; they were the Sons of Anarchy, so of course they were different. They tended to stand out in a crowd with all of the boys wearing their colors. Ariana herself wore a black pullover sweater that read 'Reaper Crew'.

The students retreated inside when the group started their way. A focused expression formed on Xavier's face, but it cleared in moments.

"Tig and Ariana should follow Logan and myself to the community room; Storm will give the rest of you a tour of the mansion, if you like," he said. They agreed and split up.

"How do you s'pose this will play out?" Ariana asked Tig in a whispered voice. Tig shrugged, but grinned slightly. Ariana rolled her eyes and punched him, not lightly, on the arm. He laughed it off.

"I believe all of the students will be delighted to gain another companion, though they may be wary of you both at first for obvious reasons. How should I refer to you, Mr. Trager?" Xavier asked.

"I'm her brother, but it's just Tig," he answered, making Ariana smile. Logan remained silent. After only a few minutes of traveling warmly lit, high class halls, they arrived at an elegant wooden door. It seemed everything in the mansion was elegant. Logan opened the door and entered first, followed by the Professor, Ariana, and Tig. Chatter ceased when they entered, and all eyes turned to the newcomers.

"Students, I would like to introduce our new student and her brother. This is Ariana Skye and Tig Trager," Xavier told the group. Everyone was introduced, though Ariana forgot most of the names seconds after they were said. She did remember the girl with white streaks in her hair, the man with crimson eyes, and the boy with blue fur and a tail.

After the introductions were made, Tig and Ariana retreated to an empty hall while the other students went back to their previous activities. Tig leaned against one wall. Ariana assumed he was resigning himself to his new role.

"C'mon, Tig. It won't be that bad. Besides, you don't have to stay here all the time. I'm sure they wouldn't care if you went out to find some fun," Ariana told him. He just rolled his eyes, making Ariana laugh.

"Logan will show you both to your rooms," Xavier told them. Tig and Ariana followed Logan to the main hall, where the Sons were waiting.

"Wait," Ariana said. "Our things are in Gemma's car."

"Got them right here, lassie," Chibs handed her a large suitcase, and Tig grabbed a duffel bag and a smaller suitcase.

"Thanks, Chibs," Ariana smiled at him. The bags were set to the side for the moment, and hugs were shared all around.

"You'll come home and visit," Gemma said firmly. Ariana nodded.

"See-ya, little sister," Jax kissed her on the forehead. Tig and Ariana watched the Sons start up their bikes, and Gemma the car. They waved farewell before riding back around the circular drive and out of the gate. Then they returned inside, where Logan led them up a flight of stairs.

"Here's your room, kid," he said to Ariana. She scowled at being called kid, but said nothing and entered her room.

"Your room is up one floor," he said to Tig, and led the way up. Ariana set her suitcase on her bed and began unpacking.

There was a dresser on one side of the room, but also a walk in closet. She had a couple of pairs of boots, one pair of high heels, and one pair of sandals that went into the closet. Most of her clothing went into the dresser. She slipped a small knife under her pillow and checked to make sure her other knives were still safe in her boots. Then she made her way up to Tigs room.

"Hey, it's me," she said after knocking on the door. Tig opened it then went back to putting away his belongings.

"Ready to go face the mob of teenagers?" she asked him once he had finished putting away his belongings.

"You're a teenager, too, you know," he pointed out.

"But I've live with the Sons for how many years now?," she smirked.

"True," he conceded.

"C'mon, Tigger," she ducked a playful punch and danced out the door, staying just out of his reach. He shook his head at her and they made their way downstairs. A brown-haired blue-eyed girl wearing pink was just hanging up the phone in the main hall. She glanced up at Tig and Ariana and smiled.

"Welcome to Mutant Manor. Dinner's in, like, five minutes, so you'd better, like, hurry!" she started to take off, but stopped when she saw they weren't moving.

"Come on," she said insistently. They followed her through a door and into a room already half filled with teens. It was loud and appeared more than slightly chaotic.

"Hey you can, like, totally come sit over here," Tig positioned himself so that Ariana was sitting beside the valley girl.

"I'm Kitty, by the way. It's, like, so totally cool to have a new –"

"Shit!" Tigs curse interrupted Kitty, preceded by a _bamf_ sound and the temporary smell of sulfur. A blue, furry boy was suddenly sitting beside Tig.

"And that is Kurt," Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Hallo, mein freunds," Kurt said before grabbing a plate of chicken. He put some on his plate before offering it to Tig and Ariana. Both took some.

"Give 'em some space, why don't ya?" the girl with white stripes in her hair sat down across from Tig, with the crimson-eyed man taking a seat beside her.

"Aw, Rogue, we're only trying to be nice," Kitty said.

"Ah don't suppose you'll remember any of our names. Ah'm Rogue, and this is Remy," Rogue said.

"Enchanté," Remy winked at her, earning himself a threatening look from Tig. "Another one? Jus' like de Wolverine," he muttered. Ariana gave Rogue a questioning look.

"Logan's pretty protective of all us girls," Rogue explained. "He doesn't like many of our boyfriends," she smirked.

"You t'ink o' Remy as yo' boyfriend?" Remy asked. There was mischief in his eyes and a smirk on his lips, but Ariana heard a thread of hope in his voice. She didn't think the other students heard it.

"Don't get your hopes up, Swamp Rat," she replied. Only Ariana and Tig noticed the crestfallen look that entered the Cajun's eyes. It was gone within an instant, replaced by forced playfulness.

"Aw, chere, y' know yo' de only one fo' poor ol' Gambit," Remy told her sincerely. Rogue rolled her eyes and placed food on her plate. They all conversed, including a slightly depressed seeming Remy.

"So, Ariana, like, where are you guys from?" Kitty asked. Ariana glanced at Tig, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Southern California," she said.

"Cool! California's so sunny," Kurt exclaimed.

"Why did all those people come with you guys?" Rogue asked.

"They're our family," Ariana said simply.

"But there were, like, so many of them!" Kitty said.

"We're a very close family," Tig told them.

"Scary family, too!" A blonde girl Ariana remembered as Tabitha sat down across from Kurt.

"Hey, Blue," she said to the furry boy.

"Hallo, Tabby," Kurt replied.

"Sorry I'm late. Any food left?" she started grabbing food and piling it onto her plate. No one answered her obviously rhetorical question.

"Not like I haven't heard that before," Ariana smirked.

"Especially you," Tabitha gestured to Tig.

"Tabitha," Kurt said in exasperation.

"Yeah, he's pretty creepy," Ariana confirmed.

"Why am I creepy?" Tig asked.

"As if you don't know. Look at you! You're you," Ariana told him. He smirked and cuffed her lightly over the back of the head.

"You're lucky you're you, little sister," Tig told Ariana.

"I've heard that before, too," she replied, laughing.

* * *

On Wednesday, two days after Ariana and Tig had arrived at the Xavier Mansion, Ariana had a session with the Professor.

"I haven't had any major headaches since I've left Charming," Ariana told him.

"Any smaller ones?"

"Yes. It doesn't go away. It just sits there, in the back of my head. It's hot and burning, but not unbearable like the bigger ones are," she replied.

"I see," Xavier folded his hands together and thought for a minute. "Has your mutation shown itself in any other way?"

"No, just the headaches," she confirmed. Xavier thought for a few minutes more.

"Ariana, I'd like to do some exercises with you to try and reveal just what abilities are causing these headaches," he told her. Ariana nodded.

"Ok, I'm going to place my fingers on your temples, if you'll allow me to," she nodded, and he did as he said.

"Alright. Now I want you to try and focus on the heat. Try to manifest that burning sensation in a physical form. I will boost your mind with my own. Don't worry, I'll be here all the time," Xavier told her. Ariana hesitated, then nodded again and closed her mismatched eyes.

She focused all of her mind on the burning sensation she felt, trying to pull it forth. She found something soft and very warm, and she tugged on it. She pulled on the bit of heat, trying to form it like the Professor had said. She felt she was nearing the front of her mind, bringing a dull ache along with the warm heat. Just before she returned with her find, she felt the Professor jerk away and she was expelled from her own mind, back into reality.

"It burned!" she said before realizing just how true that statement was. The heat had grown white hot and painful in the instant before she was forced out, but the Professor had a surprised expression on his face. She felt a warm tingling in her hands and lifted them only to find black fire engulfing both of them. Her short, soft shriek seemed to cause the fire to go out. The flames appeared to melt into her skin and disappear, leaving her hand unharmed.

"What the hell was that?" she was almost yelling, but managed to keep her voice within reason. The door was suddenly flung open to reveal Tig and Logan, the former with a handgun and the latter with extended claws.

"That was your mutation, Ariana," the Professor told her.

"What happened, Charles?" Logan growled.

"Ariana was merely surprised at the form her mutation took," Xavier told him.

"You'd be surprised, too," she muttered.

"I believe that will be all for today. Ariana, the rest of the day is yours," Xavier dismissed them. Ariana left with Tig. As they were walking down the hall, he asked her what had happened.

"It—it was fire. He told me to concentrate on the warm feeling that's always there now. I did, I focused and I pulled something out. Then, I looked at my hands and they were on fire! Black flames," she said. Tig said nothing. He didn't know what to say.

"My whole head is warm now," Ariana laughed before continuing. "It's spreading, like the fire is going through my whole body. Feels nice," she sighed and laughed again. Tig looked down at her.

"You've got sparks in your hair," he commented. She reached up to touch her hair and brought back a spark in her hand. She blew on it and it glowed bright red around an ebony center. She blew on it again, but nothing happened. Ariana closed her fist around the spark, and then reopened it. The ember was gone.

"Can we go for a ride?" She asked.

"Sure. Just don't burn the inside of my helmet," Tig grinned and led the way to the garage.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Took a little longer than I would've liked to get this chapter up. Updates might not be as steady now, with Christmas so close and all. Thank you for the favorites and alerts! And Flaca512, I will definitely see if I can fit X23 somewhere in here!**

* * *

When they returned from their ride, Tig did not put his bike into the garage. Instead, he went up to his room with Ariana following behind. She watched as Tig began packing clothes into his small duffel bag.

"Where are you going?" Ariana asked him.

"Clay wants me to take care of some problems with the New York chapter," he told her.

"I should have known he wouldn't send one of you up here without another goal," she sighed.

"He would've sent me up to take care of it anyway; it's just as well that you chose me to come," Tig assured her.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not upset," she gave him a genuine smile to prove that she truly wasn't upset. "I've lived with the club long enough not to be upset."

Once Tig was packed, they both returned to the Mansion's circular drive. Tig tied the duffel down on the back of his bike.

"See-ya, Tigger," Ariana told him as he climbed onto the bike.

"See-ya, Little Sister," he replied. Ariana stood on the steps and watched him as he rode out of the gates.

"Where's he goin'?" Ariana turned to see Rogue standing a few feet behind her.

"He's taking care of business," she said, a warning edge to her voice. Rogue nodded, understanding that it was something Ariana was not going to talk about.

"Kitty's lookin' for ya. She wants to plan a shopping trip," Rogue rolled her eyes.

"I take it shopping with Kitty is a bad thing?" Ariana asked.

"She gets annoyin' after a while," came Rogue's evasive answer. Ariana smiled. They turned to leave the main hall and ran straight into Kitty Pryde.

"Like, hi! Do you want to, like, go shopping on Saturday?" she asked. It was obvious that she had heard nothing that had just been said. Rogue groaned.

"Aw, c'mon Rogue! It'll be, like, so much fun! Please?" Kitty pleaded.

"Fine," Rogue finally agreed, then looked expectantly at Ariana.

"You're, like, totally coming too, Ariana," Kitty told her.

"Alright," Ariana reluctantly agreed.

"Awesome! Let me, like, go find Jean and Tabby!" Kitty ran off up the stairs to find more victims.

* * *

Ariana had sessions with Xavier on Thursday and Friday, as well. On Saturday she would participate in her first Danger Room session, and on that Monday she would begin attending Bayville High as a junior. In those two sessions, she learned a surprising amount of control over her flame.

"The fire wants to be controlled, Ariana. It's like a domesticated animal. All it needs is a firm hand and direction," Xavier had told her.

Of course, it helped that Ariana practiced in her room every chance she got. It was early Saturday morning that another aspect of her powers showed itself. She was sitting on the rail of her balcony, holding the fire in both hands. She watched it intently, entranced by the ever-changing patterns.

"I wish you could show me the club," she sighed, abruptly homesick.

After a few minutes the patterns began to form shapes, then coherent images. Soon it appeared like a movie within her fire.

She saw an Irish man carrying a baby. She didn't get a look at the babies face, but she could tell they were being pursued. The child seemed intensely familiar, but they escaped his pursuers in a motorboat. The images darkened then changed. Ariana saw Jax fall to his knees at the end of a dock, surrounded by other club members. All of their expressions ranged from royally pissed off to incredibly shocked.

The pictures faded slowly, and Ariana was left on her balcony, frozen in shock. With her lack of concentration the flames died away completely, and she eventually realized how very cold she was. She slipped off the railing and retreated inside, confused and unable to return to sleep.

* * *

"Ugh, it's, like, way too early," Kitty shuffled into the kitchen to join the other X-Men for breakfast. The younger students were still asleep, as they didn't have a 6:00 am Danger Room session.

"Tell me about it," Kurt said. He yawned widely, revealing animalistic fangs. Ariana grinned.

"You can't tell me you guys are still tired!" she clapped Kurt on the back.

"You're crazy, Ari," he told her.

"Maybe, blue boy, maybe," she nodded. Ariana was dressed in her custom made uniform. Since the session was actually just to test her own skills, everyone else wore their normal clothing. Ariana 's uniform was colored black and purple, with a modest v-neck. It was very unique from the others uniforms in that the X logo was not immediately visible. It was located at the V of the fabric, a small decoration that identified her as one of the team.

"Ari, you should choose your codename," Scott said, breaking Ariana out of her admiration of the purple on her sleeves.

"Yeah! You, like, make fire, right?" Kitty asked. Ariana's memory skipped to the night before, when she had seen the pictures in her flames. A surprised expression crossed Jean's face.

"You saw pictures in the fire?" she asked. Ariana was startled, but within seconds had composed her face into a stiff mask.

"What are you doin' inside my head?" she growled.

"I'm sorry, Ariana, I didn't mean to intrude," Jean apologized. Awkward silence fell and Ariana, after glaring at Jean, returned to her breakfast.

After they all had eaten, Ariana glanced at her watch. She rolled her eyes and made her way down to the sublevels of the mansion, followed by the others. They split up at the control room floor, as Ariana was going to be the only one inside the Danger Room. The others were merely observing.

* * *

"Shit!" Ariana was backed against a wall looking at three large men. The simulation looked so real; even though Ariana knew it wasn't real she still felt the instincts that had been ingrained into her since birth rise to the surface.

"C'mon girly, we just wanna have some fun," one of the men said.

"Fuck that," she spat, drawing the dagger from her boot. She pulled for her fire, focusing its heat in her free hand. The men scowled and one of them rushed her. He was unskilled and left himself open to attack. Ariana plunged the knife into his midsection and grabbed his neck with her flaming hand. His groaning scream was cut off as she squeezed his trachea. His skin blistered and burned as his companions watched in horror. After a few minutes, she tossed the man aside and glared at the other two.

They came at her from different directions, and she skipped forward to avoid them. She turned lightly and twisted away from a reaching arm, showing the enhanced agility that accompanied her mutations. She brought the blade around and cold steel bit into warm flesh. She felt the knife grate against bone and withdrew it, giving a feral smirk at the sight of so much blood spurting from a severed artery.

She ducked under a swinging arm and danced out of reach. Then she flung out her own arm and let the knife go. It hit the third man in his right eye. She pulled out her other blade, but it was unneeded. The two men abandoned their companion and left Ariana in the middle of the dark street. The simulation faded, and Ariana found herself standing in the center of the domed Danger Room.

"Ariana, if you could please come up to the control room," the Professor's voice came through an intercom system, and the doors to the room opened. Ariana left the room and entered the elevator. The control room was up only one level, so it didn't take her very long to get there.

"That was, like, amazing," Kitty said.

"Yeah, where did ya learn ta fight like that?" Rogue asked; they all knew Ariana had not been training during the short time that she had been at the Institute.

"I live with SAMCRO," was her only answer.

"Yes, you are very good," Xavier steepled his fingers. "I believe you will be able to begin training with the rest of the team immediately," he told them. Ariana received high-fives from Kitty and Kurt.

"You will also be starting school on Monday. I do believe you have all of your classes with one of your teammates, so they should be able to help you find your way," Ariana nodded consent. They were dismissed a few minutes later, after a short discussion about her fighting style with the instructors. She knew the discussion was not over, though, and that they would be asking her more about her past soon.

* * *

"Ok, like, what do you think of this one?" Kitty held up a soft pink shirt for the other girls to see.

"Too pink!" Tabitha said. Kitty rolled her eyes. Rogue and Ariana withheld comment.

"I think it's perfect for you, Kitty," Jean told the younger girl, who grinned and ran to put it on the counter with the rest of the groups potential purchases. Ariana plucked a deep purple shirt, long sleeved, off the rack and held it up in front of Rogue.

"That would look amazing on you," She said. Rogue took the shirt and held it up to herself in front of a mirror.

"I, like, totally love it! You're getting it!" Kitty snatched the shirt away from Rogue, making Ariana laugh.

"Kitty! I found the cutest shoes over here in…" Tabitha's voice faded as she moved away to the shoe section. Kitty and Jean followed, and Ariana and Rogue made their escape.

They walked together down a less crowded section of the mall, before Ariana suddenly changed course. Rogue grinned as they turned into a Hot Topic store. The sign outside read, '**Sale! 50% off select items!**' in large, bold letters.

* * *

"Come on, Kitty, we're going to be late!" Ariana and Rogue waited outside of the girls bathroom. "Hold on – almost ready – coming!" Kitty emerged from the bathroom with her bag slung over one shoulder. She wore her pink cardigan over a white shirt with jeans.

Rogue wore her usual sheer green over a cropped top and a black skirt over leggings. Ariana was very casual, having only jeans and her pullover sweater bearing the words 'Reaper Crew' over a simple black top.

They raced downstairs and to the garage, snatching quick breakfasts on the way. They climbed into Jean's SUV just as she was starting the engine. They talked amiably for the twenty minutes it took to get to the school, and then went in to find Scott, Evan, and Kurt.

* * *

"Okay, Ari. You're first class is Government, with Rogue," Scott looked over Ariana's schedule before handing it back.

"Thanks," she replied dryly. Rogue smirked, recognizing her sarcastic tone.

"C'mon, Ari," she rolled her eyes and the two dark-clothed girls left for their first class, accompanied by Kitty and Jean. Scott watched them go with a confused expression.

"Don't worry about it, man," Evan said.

"Ja, girls are just like that," Kurt grinned. Scott shrugged and they followed the girls to their various classes.

* * *

**Not sure how well I did on the simulated fight scene, but hopefully you liked it. I'll try to get another update in before Christmas, but no promises.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the favorites, alerts and review!**

* * *

Ariana's first two classes were fairly easy. The class at her school in Charming was three chapters ahead of Bayville in government, and she had always been excellent at English. At lunch she joined the Xavier students at their table.

"How did your morning go, Ariana?" Kurt asked when she sat down. She poked at some of her food with a fork before answering.

"Not bad. My Government class in California is so far ahead of the one here, and English is almost too easy," she grinned and Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Look. Here come the losers," she glared and Ariana peeked out of the corner of her vision.

She saw a very large boy with a blonde Mohawk first. Beside him were three other boys. One had dark hair and an annoyed expression, while the other had white hair and a smug smirk. The third was more hunched over. He had greenish-brown hair and a grey complexion. Ariana had seen their type before.

"So you're the new X-Geek," one of them said. Ariana ignored them, but she wrinkled her nose at the smell he brought with him. "Hey, yo, I'm talkin' to you," his voice was insistent, annoyed that he was being ignored. Ariana winked at Rogue, who smirked.

"Hey, he's talkin' to you," a deeper voice repeated. One of them tapped her on the shoulder, and Ariana's amused expression became abruptly annoyed. She stood slowly and turned around.

"Do not touch me," she said simply and clearly. The greenish one hid behind the one with the Mohawk, but the others didn't move.

"Whatta'ya gonna do about it?" the white haired one spoke very quickly. Ariana turned her gaze on him.

"This is not the place, Ariana," Scott said. She knew that the rest of the table was standing without having to look.

"Yeah, you goody-goods gotta keep up a reputation," the toad-like boy said.

"C'mon, Ari. These losers ain't worth our time," Rogue waved a dismissive hand toward the Brotherhood boys. She glared at the boys for another moment, then turned and followed her peers out of the cafeteria. They exited the school and gathered in the deserted back parking lot.

"This isn't the place for a fight with them," Jean repeated Scott's words. Ariana glared at them both.

"You need to learn that I choose my own battles, and I don't need anyone else interfering, team or not," she growled. "Those 'losers' are a problem that needs to be dealt with, and if they want to pick a fight they had damn well be ready to finish it.

"But the school—" Scott began, but Ariana cut him off.

"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't have used my powers. I know how to win a fight without them," she held his gaze until he broke eye contact, then she spun on her heel and left the parking lot. She didn't go back into the school; instead Ariana headed in the general direction of the outskirts of the city.

She ended up in a small park, sitting beneath a large tree. There was no one around and the silence was peaceful. She held up one hand and willed the soft heat to increase. Her hand abruptly burst into black flames. Mesmerized by the dark light, Ariana felt her anger slowly ebb away.

Once she was calm she began thinking about what she had seen in the fire, about how angry the boys had looked. Was it real or just an illusion? She checked the prepaid cell Gemma had given her before they had arrived at the Institute.

"So you can keep in touch with us," she had said. Ariana knew it was actually so that no one could track her down if trouble came their way. The club had its enemies, and some of those would do anything for revenge. There were no calls or messages on the phone. Tig had left nearly a week ago, but she had still received no contact from him. Ariana dismissed the worry she felt; things were probably just a bit more complicated than Clay had thought.

After a few more hours she got to her feet and looked around. The sky was tinged with brilliant fire in the west, and in the east a dusky purple and blue blanketed the horizon. It would probably take her another hour or so to reach the Institute – it would be full dark by then. Ariana began walking.

She would probably get ripped for skipping school when she got back, but it wouldn't be anything she hadn't heard before. As she walked Ariana felt a distinct chill in the air. With a start she realized that it must be rather cold. She had begun to notice that she didn't feel heat and cold the same way anymore. With the fire filling her, it took more to get her to even slip on a jacket. She remembered that, though at the time she had taken no notice of it, most of the other students had been wearing heavier coats than herself.

Winter was coming closer, and with it came Christmas. Christmas… It usually meant Gemma putting on a big dinner, and a party at the clubhouse. Every member tried to attend, accompanied for part of the night by their families.

It was so much fun, a time for SAMCRO to come together and just enjoy the season. This year she wasn't as certain. Would she be able to return to Charming for the holiday? She brushed the thought aside. Of course she would go back! Gemma would insist, no matter what Xavier said.

Ariana was so lost in her thoughts and memories of home that she didn't notice she had reached the institute until she literally ran into the gates. She grimaced and entered the code into the keypad. Slowly the gates swung open and Ariana entered, listening to the iron clang shut behind her.

She walked slowly, not worrying about the defenses. They were automatically disabled when the correct code was entered. She would have to enable them again at the door. So it was only by chance that Ariana looked up and spotted a figure scaling the wall.

The stranger jumped down and began running toward the mansion. Ariana clenched her fists, letting fire engulf them. Suddenly the stranger stopped and seemed to sniff the air.

It changed course and started coming for Ariana. She brought up both blazing hands to ward off the attack, but the fire did little damage as her assailant slammed bodily into her.

She flew back and landed on her side, luckily missing the stone fountain. Ariana scrambled to her feet and looked around quickly. She spotted the intruder, obviously identified as a girl, coming towards her again. She had no time to study the stranger before they were forced to exchange a series of swift maneuvers. Ariana hesitated for one moment when the intruder gave her a surprise – two glimmering claws shot out of each hand, disturbingly similar to Logan's.

"Damn," Ariana breathed.

That one moment gave her opponent a definite edge over her, though Ariana was certain she would have gained it quickly anyway. The girl slashed at Ariana with one set of claws; Ariana in turn sent a jet of flames her way. It swiftly became obvious that she was no match for the intruder.

Ariana was intensely relieved when the girl suddenly fell to her knees, hands clutching at her head. Logan was immediately by her side, and Ariana retreated to the foyer. Most of her teammates and a few New Recruits were gathered there, as well as Storm and Xavier.

"Please, students, return to your own pursuits. The situation is under control here," the Professor said. Reluctantly they all filed out. Ariana found Rogue and followed her to the kitchen.

"Who was that?" she asked, digging in the refrigerator for something to eat.

"Ah think her name is Laura," Rogue replied. "None of us really know much about her, but ah do know she's pretty messed up from whatevah happened to her."

"Well, she's a damn good fighter," Ariana mused quietly.

* * *

**Short, I know, but I really wanted to get this up soon. Happy Holidays!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey again! There are quite a few curse words towards the middle of this chapter, just a warning. **

* * *

"Alright, Kid, tell us what's up," Logan, Xavier, and Laura, formerly known as X-23, were seated in the Professor's office.

"Hydra's become more active," she said, glaring at Logan.

"Are you tryin' to ask us for help takin' 'em down, kid?" he asked her.

"Do not call me kid," she growled. Logan held up his hands in supplication. Laura nodded stiffly. Xavier remained silent, understanding how difficult it was for the girl to ask for help.

"They've been taking mutants, kidnapping them. I've seen them," she said.

"Do you know where they are taking them?" Xavier finally asked. Laura shook her head.

"'Least you're not being so stubborn this time around," She growled again in response.

"I can still leave," she threatened.

"Laura, you are welcome to stay here while we investigate your information," the Professor offered. She nodded, and Xavier looked at Logan. The Wolverine nodded and motioned for Laura to follow him.

"C'mon, kid. I'll find you a room," Laura growled again in response, but Logan only chuckled. Then they were in the elevator and out of hearing range. Xavier sighed and steepled his fingers, thinking about what Laura had told him. If it was true… Hydra was experimenting on mutants again, but for what purpose he did not know.

* * *

Ariana and the other students attended school the following day. Ariana remained for the entire day, managing to avoid confrontation with the Brotherhood. This avoidance was mainly to keep Scott off her back; she was already worrying about SAMCRO, she didn't need him jumping down her throat. It helped that she had almost easily made friends with Wanda, whom she had met through Rogue.

Ariana had not yet had the chance to teach them exactly why they should not touch her, but she could wait patiently, biding her time until the opportune moment. She had not lived with the Sons for all those years without learning anything. Usually it was swift vengeance, but sometimes the waiting game was a better choice.

She made it through the day without instigating any problems and, opting out of riding with Scott or Jean, walked home with Rogue. When they made it to the Institute a half hour later, they first dropped off their school bags before heading to the recreation room. Luckily no one was there, so Ariana and Rogue had it to themselves. Ariana grinned before pulling a CD seemingly from nowhere.

"Where'd ya hide that?" Rogue asked curiously. Ariana showed her the homemade pocket inside her sweater, hidden from the outside. It contained only a few small tools for picking locks now that the CD was in Ariana's hand. She smirked and put the CD in the player, turning the volume up slightly louder than necessary.

"I burned it a few months before I came here. It's all my favorite songs by Flogging Molly," she explained.

"I've never heard them," Rogue admitted. Ariana grinned again.

"I think you'll like them," she told her, pressing play. Rogue listened as the first song, Drunken Lullabies, began to play. By the end of the song she was grinning and moving right along with Ariana. The next song was Seven Deadly Sins. They made it halfway through the song before they were interrupted by Remy and Kitty.

"Dancing, chere?" Remy smirked, approaching Rogue.

"Not anymore," she told him. He made a wounded face.

"'Y don' wanna dance wi' Remy?" he asked innocently.

"Nope," her voice was teasing, a sign of her good mood.

"This music is, like, totally weird," Kitty commented.

"Hey, don't hate on my music," Ariana scolded playfully.

"Like, chillax! I think I might like, totally like it," she replied. They were soon joined by Kurt, Tabitha, and Amara.

The group joked and laughed for a few hours, listening to the rest of Ariana's disc before replacing it with ACDC. Tabitha and Kitty argued for a boy band, but Rogue and Ariana overruled them. Remy went with Rogue's choice, and Amara said she didn't mind either way.

Despite the disagreement in music, the group joked and laughed for hours. After dinner, Ariana retreated to her room alone. She wanted to call Jax. Once she made sure she had some privacy, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. The phone rang four times and went to voicemail. Ariana ended the call and dialed Tig's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey little sister," he answered.

"Where's Abel?" she hadn't meant to ask that; the words just slipped out. Tig hesitated for a few seconds too long before answering.

"Not in Charming. We don't know where yet," he replied.

"Why the fuck didn't you call me!" she yelled into the phone.

"Clay didn't want you to know. He doesn't want you skipping town and coming back here," he said.

"I'm not gonna fucking skip town. You bastards don't even know where he is, so how could I? You had better keep me updated," she growled. Tig sighed.

"Here, let me put Clay on," she heard a shuffling sound.

"Hey baby girl," Clay's voice was gruff, but affectionate.

"Why did you think it would be better not to fucking tell me?" she asked dangerously.

"Like Tig said, didn't want you dropping out," he told her.

"What. Happened," she said darkly. Her temper was rising, and she furiously pushed it down. Clay sighed heavily.

"Stahl framed Gemma for killing Edmond Hayes, Cameron's son, and Cameron killed Half-Sack and took Abel in revenge," Ariana could hear the anger building in his voice as he gave her the much shortened explanation. He took a few deep breaths while she processed the information.

"Shit," she breathed, feeling a heated anger building within her mind.

"We'll take care of it, Ari. Stay in Bayville at the Institute. I or someone else will try to call you when we get more information. I've got to go now," Clay said.

"Alright," she nodded as she spoke.

"Good girl. Have a good night."

"Bye, Clay," the call ended and Ariana set the phone down. She felt the heat, which she now recognized as her own fire, building inside of her. She balled her hands into fists and flames abruptly sprang into being, flickering dangerously.

She closed her eyes and focused on controlling the fire and her anger. Slowly, so slowly, she calmed herself and let the heat be taken by the fire. After a few minutes more she opened her hands and the fire melted back into her palms.

"Shit," she repeated softly, staring at her hands and thinking of the club.

* * *

Ariana sat on the railing of her balcony, cupping her hand around a small, white candle. She blew gently on the wick and smiled when a darkly flickering flame sprang into being. She set the candle beside her to dance sedately in the night air. Then she lay back on the rail, propping one foot up on the top and letting one hang down. She balanced easily with her back aligned on the top rail.

Ariana stared up into the starry sky, silently paying her tribute to Half-Sack. He had been so close to becoming a full patch member… A knock on the balcony door brought her out of her thoughts and caused her to lose her balance. She managed to roll and land on the balcony instead of the open air to her left.

"What the hell?" she spat, more than a little irritated at the intrusion.

"Hey, hey, just checkin' to make sure you're alright," Rogue held up her hands in surrender, but she was grinning, obviously finding Ariana's tumble funny. Ariana made a face at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," her voice sounded less sure than she wanted, and she mentally cursed herself.

"Are you sure, Ari?" she asked, an open and concerned tone to her voice.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine…" her voice trailed away as she realized how unconvincing she sounded. Rogue seemed to understand, for she answered with something Ariana knew to be true.

"I'm sure your family wouldn't mind ya talkin' about it if it was botherin' ya," Ariana nodded and gestured for Rogue to go into her bedroom with her. She glanced back at the candle, still burning with a darkness full of meaning, and closed the balcony doors behind them.

They sat on Ariana's bed, cross-legged and facing each other. Rogue waited patiently for her to speak, and Ariana took time to organize her thoughts. As she began speaking, she felt a surge of anger. It soon subsided; her energy spent for the night.

She told Rogue of Half-Sack's death, and of Abel's kidnapping. By the time she had finished telling Rogue about her sibling relationship with both Half-Sack and Abel and about the visions she had glimpsed in her flames, Ariana was crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks freely, but her voice was clear and colored by worry and grief.

The two girls spent a few hours after Ariana had calmed down just talking, until at last the large grandfather clock downstairs chimed midnight. Rogue grimaced.

"We'd both better get to bed," she said. Ariana nodded.

"'Night, Rogue," she said.

"'Night, Ari," Rogue replied and left to her own room. Ariana brought the candle, which had burned itself out, inside and placed it carefully on her desk. Then she lay in bed with the lights turned off and the blankets tucked around her to keep out the chill air. It was only a few minutes before sleep claimed her weary mind.

* * *

Rogue said nothing about their hours spent talking the next day. She smiled across the table at Ariana during breakfast, and Ariana winked back. Though she was tied in knots with worry inside, she wore her expression in a calm mask. She noticed Remy giving her occasional curious looks, but she ignored him and his empathic ability. She knew he could feel the grief and worry emanating from her.

After breakfast she donned a coat and slipped outside. She wandered the grounds without any real aim until she picked up a few faint sounds. She stopped and listened intently, but she could not identify the sounds from where she stood. She followed the noise into the forest surrounding the Institute. After a few minutes of walking, Ariana located the source.

She peered through a break in the trees and watched the girl – Laura? – mock-fighting an invisible opponent. For a moment Ariana wondered why she wasn't using the Danger Room, until she remembered that the New Recruits had a training session that day. She stayed frozen for only a few seconds before Laura stopped.

The younger girl growled and stalked towards her hiding place. Ariana took a few hurried steps back and summoned the flames in her hands. Two claws identical to Logan's extended from both of Laura's hands. When Ariana realized the other girl was not stopping, she released the flames and held up her hands in surrender.

"Hold, hold! I'm from Xavier's, remember?" she said quickly. Laura paused for a moment, watching Ariana warily. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I'm Ariana."

"Laura," she replied, letting the claws recede into her knuckles.

"You're staying here, right?" she asked, attempting to alleviate the tension.

"Yes, for now," she said.

"Why don't we see you around?" Ariana pushed lightly for information, her curiosity driving her on.

"I'm busy," she told Ariana, who nodded and took the hint to back off.

"I'm heading back to the mansion, if you want to come," she offered.

"I'm not good with people," Laura admitted in a tight tone.

"That's alright," Ariana realized that Laura seemed confused and surprised. It made her wonder.

"…Okay," she hesitantly agreed. They made their way back to the mansion, miraculously avoiding any of the other students.

They went to the library; a place the students rarely frequented. It was empty, save for Dr. McCoy, who was leaving as Ariana and Laura entered. He smiled at them both and disappeared down the hall. They took seats at a table that was comfortably hidden behind a strategically placed bookshelf. A small window provided soft, warm light in the shadowy space.

Ariana smiled inwardly as, over the course of a few hours, she managed to coax a suitable, if somewhat stilted, conversation out of Laura. She was surprised at her own patience, but did not question it. Laura left when Rogue and Kitty came into the library looking for Ariana.

"Like, what was that about?" Kitty asked after Laura was gone. Ariana just shook her head.

"What's up?" she asked. Rogue shrugged.

"There's nothing to, like, do," Kitty complained. Ariana thought for a moment. A grin spread across her face and Rogue gave her a curious look.

"I think I have an idea," she said, the mischievous glint in her eye making Rogue grin as well while Kitty glanced between the two suspiciously.

* * *

**Finally! Sorry for the wait. My home computer just went to crap. Now that I'm back at school I can access internet again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter. The next one will be a bit shorter, but I promise I won't take too long to get it up (maybe sometime this week!)**

* * *

They recruited Tabitha and hid up in Ariana's room. For fifteen minutes they talked and drew up simple diagrams. Once satisfied, they gathered up their plans and snuck silently through the empty halls. Kitty had checked to make sure there was no one else around, so the group was not interrupted in carrying out their plans.

They retrieved a bucket and filled it with a mixture of two parts water and two parts red kool-aid, then made their way to Scott's room. After they had all filed in, Ariana shut the door almost all the way. Kitty phased a large hook into the ceiling, and Rogue placed the bucket on the top of the door before tying the handle to the hook with a short rope.

They carefully snuck out of his room, and Kitty announced that they had one hour left before dinner. During this time countless more relatively harmless traps were set throughout the mansion. When dinner time came around, they made their way down to the dining room, quite satisfied with their afternoon.

* * *

Over the next week, chaos reigned in the mansion. After the majority of the girls' traps were sprung, there was retaliation from various parties. It turned into a veritable war, with sometimes up to four parties involved at one time. Tabitha, Kitty, Rogue, and Ariana remained their own team. Bobby, Jubilee, Sam, and Roberto were on another, and Remy, Kurt, and Evan made up a third team. Jamie sometimes involved himself, usually sticking with Remy and Kurt or with Kitty.

The pranks were abruptly ended on Saturday of that week when Logan was drenched with icy water while passing Scott's car. The students simultaneously seemed to disappear, even the ones who had not been involved in the pranks.

Logan could be found stalking the mansion and its grounds, searching out students to punish. At dinner Logan sat in his chair glaring at the whole of the student body. The expression terrified some, but Ariana had to work very hard not to let her laughter show. When finally dinner had passed, she retreated to her room and proceeded to break down laughing on her bed.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked from her doorway. Ariana got her mirth under control quickly and sat up to see Laura standing just outside her door.

"Logan's expression at dinner tonight," she replied. Laura smiled.

"Why was he so angry?" she asked.

"He got soaked in the garage," she explained. Laura actually laughed at the mental image. "Where have you been that you didn't hear about it?"

"I was investigating something out-of state," she said simply. Ariana took the hint and left it at that. Laura came into her room and sat on the bed beside her. Neither girl spoke for a few minutes. Though Laura had sought her out, Ariana did not ask her reason. She suspected, from what little she'd heard of Laura, that the other girl just wanted, needed, companionship.

* * *

The lit-up numbers on Ariana's alarm clock read 4:38 am. She glanced at the clock, then returned her attention to the fire in her palm.

"Show me Abel," she whispered, hoping against hope that her theory would work. The flames jumped and flickered, instantly more agitated. A minute passed. Ariana glared at the fire, daring it to disobey her. Another minute passed. She poured all of her energy and concentration into the small bunch of flames in front of her. When yet another minute had gone by with no results, she narrowed her eyes at the fire and held it up at eye level.

"Show me Abel Teller," she ground out angrily. It took almost thirty seconds, but this time her command yielded results. The innocent little face of Abel wavered in the moving flame. The image slowly zoomed out, showing more of his surroundings. He was being held by a blond woman Ariana had never seen before. The woman looked up at someone outside Ariana's view. Her lips moved, and she realized that there was no sound to her vision.

"Damn," she swore, cursing the silence. She watched for a few minutes before she began to feel incredibly drained. Abel looked healthy and unharmed, so she released both the vision and the fire. Then she lay back on her bed and racked her brain, wondering where Abel might have been taken.

Her alarm clock went off at five o'clock and Ariana still had not come to a logical solution.

* * *

The team filed out of the Danger Room, uniforms smoking and blotched in bright paint. They shuffled up to the Control Room to review the exercise. Logan and Xavier were waiting for them.

"That was brutal," Kurt announced once they were gathered.

"Ugh, like, how many times do we have to run that?" Kitty asked.

"Until you pass it," Logan growled.

"That's impossible," Evan said.

"You just need to explore different uses for your powers," the Professor told them. "I believe this session ran a bit longer than usual. You all had better get something to eat before heading to school." The teenagers changed out of their uniforms, showered, and headed down to a quick breakfast before school.

Ariana, Rogue, and Kitty got a ride from Jean, though there was not much talking done during the ride. The day passed agonizingly slowly for Ariana. When it was finally lunchtime, she grabbed Rogue and her coat and headed for the doors.

"Fuck this," she said. Rogue remained silent until they were outside.

"What's goin' on?" she asked once they were alone.

"School is just not something I can handle right now. I have to make a phone call," they started walking, abandoning the school for any other secluded destination. Ariana pulled out her phone and dialed Clay's number. It rang five times before redirecting to voice mail. The same thing happened when she called Jax's phone, as well as Juice's and Happy's. Tig picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Ari," he answered quietly.

"Hey Tigger. What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly what's happening yet. I'm with Gemma at her dad's; Jax and the others are working on finding Abel," he replied.

"Anything new?" she kept her voice level, though frustrated was just one word that could be used to describe how she felt.

"Cameron's dead. The IRA killed him, but he left Abel in Vancouver before going to Belfast. Jax and the others are going up there to find him in a few days," he replied. There was a pause on Tig's end before he spoke again. "Why aren't you in school, Ari?"

"Skipping," she grinned. Tig laughed. He started to say something, but he was cut off by a loud noise in the background.

"Aw, shit, I've gotta go. Call ya when I can," the line went dead and Ariana flipped the phone closed. Rogue didn't ask, but Ariana knew she had to be curious.

"That was Tig. I needed an update on Abel," she told her. Rogue nodded.

"So, what are we doin' now?" she asked.

"Well for starters, I want some coffee. Know any good places?" Ariana replied.

"Yeah, I know just the place," Rogue grinned, leading the way to her favorite café.

* * *

Ariana's absence from the majority of the school day was not commented upon. Her absences, like Rogue's, were not uncommon. The afternoon passed with homework and amusing interaction between Rogue and Remy. Sitting in the library with Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Remy, and some of the New Recruits, Ariana divided her attention between the exchange and her homework.

"No, Swamp Rat," Rogue said, her tone light but leaning towards annoyed. She didn't look up as she spoke, instead focusing on the essay she was writing for English.

"But chére—"

"Don't you 'chére' me, Cajun," she interrupted.

"Jus' one date. Please?" he asked. Rogue again did not look up at the very convincing puppy face Remy was making at her.

"I said no," she replied. Kitty and Kurt had completely abandoned their homework in favor of watching Remy try to persuade Rogue into accompanying him on a date.

"Roguey, Remy jus' wants a chance," he tried again.

"Why do ya have ta make these things so public, Cajun?" she asked him, finally looking up from her homework.

"How else am I s'posed t' get y' somewhere y' can't run off?" he smirked.

"Oh, ya think I can't just get up and walk out?" she began packing up her things.

"Don't go, chére!" Remy suddenly exclaimed very loudly. Rogue paused in her actions.

"And what are ya gonna do if I leave?" she asked.

"Remy would jus' have t' try again, wouldn' he?" he replied. Rogue shook her head in exasperation and slipped her notebook into her messenger bag.

"Don't follow me, Swamp Rat," she said before leaving the library.

Remy looked around at the faces of the students, who looked back at him with a mixture of amusement, pity, and encouragement. His gaze lingered on Ariana, who smiled at him with an expression of mixed sadness and encouragement. She knew he pined after her friend, and she knew the rejection hurt him. But she also knew, as most everyone suspected, that Rogue only rejected the Cajun to keep him safe. She was afraid of hurting him.

Ariana nodded to him and waved a hand toward the door through which Rogue had disappeared in an obvious manner. _Go after her_, it said. He grinned and did just that. A few minutes later they all heard a yell of, "Swamp Rat! Didn't I tell ya not to follow me!"

* * *

"I swear, that Cajun has no sense," Rogue's words came out in an aggravated tone, but a small smile betrayed her. Ariana hid her mirth behind a well-trained mask.

"I think, Rogue, that something happens to the mind when a person falls in love," she replied sincerely. Rogue snorted.

"He just wants to get some action, Ari," she replied, but Ariana saw the hope that passed through her friends expression before she pushed it down.

"Then why doesn't he go after someone he can actually touch?" she asked her. The two sat together cross-legged in the grass outside the school building, eating their lunches slowly. They watched groups of people flow back into the school as it came closer to the time for class to begin again.

Ariana tracked Kitty walking with Lance until they reached the school. They were currently dating, after two weeks apart. Rogue still had not answered when the couple disappeared inside, Lance holding the door for a giggling Kitty. Ariana smiled.

"Rogue, he really does love you," she said softly.

"I know," she whispered. "But… I can't control my power, yet. I can't hurt him, Ari."

"I know," was all Ariana could say in reply. The bell rang and they gathered their things and headed inside.

"I'm surprised Remy hasn't visited the med-bay in at least two weeks," Rogue made a face at Ariana's comment before they parted ways for their last few classes.

* * *

Fat, wet, white flakes swirled around the students streaming from Bayville High. Already a few inches covered the ground, and shouts of delight and dismay flowed among the students. Many rolled up snowballs to throw at each other.

Ariana ducked a snowball thrown by Kurt and scooped up some of the cold, white stuff to create her own weapon. Scott and Jean of course had to drive their vehicles back to the mansion accompanied by Evan and Kitty, but most of the Xavier students chose instead to walk back to the Institute. Rogue, Ariana, Jubilee, Amara, and Tabitha stopped at a coffee shop on the way for hot chocolate.

"Yeah, this stuff is the best!" Tabitha declared after taking a sip from her steaming Styrofoam cup. Jubilee enthusiastically agreed. They sat at the coffee shop for the equivalent of one cup each, then bought refills and continued on their way. They chatted and joked cheerfully as they walked, until a comment by Rogue broke throught the light mood.

"Ugh, I think we have a Danger Room session," she reminded them as they were walking up the mansion's drive.

"Nope! It's been, like, totally cancelled!" Kitty met them at the door.

"Why?" Amara asked.

"Logan's gone, and, like, so are Storm and the Professor. Mr. McCoy is, like, the only teacher here!" she told them. The mood within the student body was considerably lighter at this news, and many of them escaped into the snow. Rogue said something about finding a certain red-eyed Cajun, and Ariana was left to find something to keep herself occupied.

She sat on a bench for a while watching some of the other students fail epically at the notion of a no-powers snowball fight, but after being hit twice with snowballs and once with one of Jubilee's fireworks, she decided it was getting a bit too dangerous and retreated inside. She started to enter the rec room, but when she caught a glimpse of Scott and Jean lip-locked on the couch, she decided the safest bet would probably be the kitchen.

"Hey, Mr. McCoy," she greeted Beast when she entered the kitchen. Kurt and Evan were seated at the island, the former eating popcorn and the latter downing glasses of milk. Ariana took a seat, as well.

"Good afternoon," he replied. "How are you today?" Ariana smiled. Mr. McCoy was always so polite to them all.

"Fairly good, how about you?" she asked him.

"Having a hard time with this cooking," he admitted as Kurt and Evan discreetly fled the scene.

"What are you trying to make?" Ariana figured they didn't want to get roped into helping.

"A pork roast," he told her.

"Oh, I can help with that. I help Gemma all the time when she hosts a dinner for the club," she stood beside him, observing what had gone wrong. "Let me do this part, and you cook the vegetables, okay?" He nodded and gratefully left Ariana to deal with the main course. She easily prepared it, calling on a few years worth of experience with Gemma in the kitchen.

In only a few hours the meal was perfected under Arianas direction, the table set by Rahne and Roberto, and the food laid out on the table in front of hungry mutant students. Ariana and Hank took their places and grabbed their food as the usual mealtime chaos began.

* * *

**Yay! Got this all done over a three-day weekend. No, we didn't get yesterday off of school. Instead we had friday off. But at least yesterday was a late start because of snow!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter, and before the end of the week. Thank you so much to my readers and reviewers!**

* * *

Ariana marked another day off on her calendar. Staring at the small black 25 near the bottom, her heart fell just a little bit. What if Abel wasn't back in his father's arms by Christmas? She spun and threw the pen across the room. It hit the opposite wall and bounced off. She didn't keep track of where it landed.

She had experimented enough to be sure that her fire could show her no more than the person or animal in question, and so far only in the present. She thought, perhaps, that if she practiced enough she might be able to look into the future, but it was only a hope, a theory.

A knock on her door summoned her from her thoughts. Ariana thought about ignoring it, but after a few seconds she sighed and turned to face the door.

"Come in," she called, and Storm quietly entered.

"I heard you did a wonderful job helping Hank in the kitchen a few days ago," the white-haired woman said.

"Yeah," was Ariana's short reply. Storm sighed, recognizing that she was in no mood for idle chatter.

"I came to tell you that the Professor would like to see you in his office," she said. Ariana nodded and followed Storm to Xavier's office. Once she was seated in one of the plush chairs in front of the Professor's desk, he folded his hands and looked at her.

"How are you doing exploring your power?" he asked.

"Good. It doesn't take much to sustain a flame now," she said, unsure if she really wanted to tell him about the visions. She suspected there would be no choice.

"And what about other aspects of your power?" he asked, the hint of a smile at the corners of his lips. She mentally face-palmed: of course he knew, he was a telepath. How could she have overlooked such a key element? _I'm losing my touch_, she mused silently.

"I can see things in the flames, if I try," she admitted. Xavier nodded.

"Would you mind showing me?" he asked her.

"Sure," she held up her hand and focused on pulling up her fire. In under a minute she had a steady flame dancing in her palm. She considered for a few moments, and then decided that she should take the opportunity to see how Gemma was handling her grandsons kidnapping.

"Show me Gemma," she said firmly, commanding the flames to show her the only real mother figure she could clearly remember. She saw Gemma in a parking lot, but the background was indistinct. She was listening to someone one a cell phone. Whatever the person said painted a horrified expression onto Gemma's face and had her clutching at her chest.

Ariana used both hands to shape her fire into a small ball, large enough to show them a detailed image, but small enough to fit in both of her hands. Gemma dropped the phone and fell, visibly trying to breathe properly. In the background, multiple headlights appeared. Ariana recognized a large group of motorcycles interspersed with a few cars.

As the club began to run towards Gemma, Ariana lost the vision. It faded, still moving, into the blackness until it was completely gone. Ariana downsized the ball before crushing it into her palm. The fire melted back into her skin quickly.

"You are dismissed, Ariana. Let me know if you need anything," he said softly. Ariana left the room as quickly as she could without running. She didn't bother stopping to let anyone get out of her way, instead choosing to shove past them. This earned her a few worried, confused stares, and a few annoyed glares, but she paid them no heed.

She grabbed her phone from her room and escaped from the mansion into the grounds. The phone was ringing before she was even off the steps. She paced through the deepening snow, listening to the phone ring. When it went to voice mail, she slammed it shut.

"Fuck," she spat, staring at the trampled snow around her with contempt. She heard the crunch of snow behind her and spun, ready to scare off whomever it was. She calmed herself marginally when she saw it was only Rogue.

"If ya want ta be alone, I'll understand," she said softly. Ariana remained silent for a few minutes, while Rogue stood by patiently waiting.

"No, stay. I just need to reach someone," she said, opening her phone again. It had barely been five minutes since she had seen Gemma fall.

"Answer the damn phone!" she yelled, just as the phone was picked up.

"Woah, Sis, got a bit of a temper there," Juice had answered the phone.

"Yeah? So would you if no one picked up the damn phone after you watched the woman you see as a mother have a heart-attack or some goddamn thing!" she kept her voice away from yelling, but it most certainly was not calm.

"God, Ari, how'd you find out about that?" he asked.

"It's a long story. Tell me what happened," she replied.

"We just got her to the hospital, so we don't know anything yet," he said.

"I want to come home, at least for a little bit," she told him.

"I'll have to let you talk to Clay," he said, followed by silence.

"Well?" Ariana asked impatiently.

"Clay's a little busy right now. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to bother him yet," he said. Ariana sighed.

"Call me as soon as you know anything," she said.

"I promise I will," he told her sincerely, and hung up. Ariana closed the phone and stared at it for a long minute before tucking it into a pocket. It was only then that she realized just how cold she was in her thin t-shirt, with snow blowing all around her. She turned to Rogue, giving her a small smile.

"Let's go inside," she told her friend. They hurried back to the warmth of the mansion, only to be met by curious faces.

"C'mon, y'all! Back off a little. Ya don't need ta know every little thing goin' on in this place!" Rogue shooed the curious students away, all but a select few. Remy, Kurt, and Kitty stayed, following Rogue and Ariana to her room.

"I'm going back, no matter what they say," she told them quietly. "I don't care if Clay tells me to stay here. I'm going back to Charming, and then I'm going after Abel. I will find him, I'll watch him until I see something. Anything." The others didn't object.

"I t'ink we all want t' help y', Ari," Remy said after a few beats of silence. Ariana nodded.

"I have to wait for Juice to call me back, then we can start planning."

* * *

It was a half hour before Ariana's phone rang again.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Gemma's fine," Clay's voice surprised her, as she had been expecting someone else.

"I want to come down," Ariana insisted.

"Not yet. There's too much shit going on, and now that you're out of it I don't want you back in until it's over," he told her.

"I want to see her. I saw her fall, Clay. I don't care if you say she's fine. It was that phone call that caused it, and I want to see her for myself," she growled.

"I understand that, but for now we need you in New York. You can be a much bigger help to us if you don't make yourself a target," he told her slowly. Ariana held back her temper, breathing in and out slowly before answering.

"Alright, Clay. Tell Gemma I said hi," she said, and then hung up. She brought her hands to eye level and summoned her fire.

"Show me someone who knows something about Abel," she whispered, her voice urgent and fierce, looking for any little bit of information she could find. It left no room for argument, and this time the fire complied almost immediately.

The others gathered around to watch as moving pictures rapidly flashed through the dark depths, before a slower one lingered. Ariana moved her hands gently around the ball of flame, expanding it to make it easier for them all to get a look at what the vision was showing.

A bearded man was speaking with a younger woman, long-haired and only a few years older than Ariana at most. The woman handed the man a slip of paper with something written on it. They exchanged a few words, and once again Ariana cursed the silence of her ability. The man turned his back to them after a few moments. His cut was Sons of Anarchy, and the bottom rocker read 'Belfast'.

"SAMBEL," Ariana whispered.

"Ve are going to Ireland?" Ariana looked up at Kurt to answer his question.

"Yeah, Kurt, we're going to Ireland."

* * *

**There we go, getting to some exciting stuff!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter, getting closer! Thank you readers and reviewers!**

* * *

They completely skipped the trip to Charming; Ariana knew that Clay would have let her go back if Gemma's condition was serious. Instead Remy used his charm to get them a cheap ride on a small private plane. Ariana had to hide a grin when she saw Rogue glaring at the woman Remy was flirting with.

"Aw, c'mon, Chére, y' know you're de on'y one for Remy," he put an arm around her shoulders, but she brushed it off.

"I don't trust her, that's all," she lied smoothly, but the rest of them knew the truth.

As they boarded the little plane, Ariana thought about how wonderful and incredibly convenient it was that they were all members of the X-Men, therefore they all had current passports.

The closer they got to Ireland, the more anxious Ariana became. She didn't know where exactly Abel was, and Belfast was a large city. There was the True IRA to consider, and the Belfast chapter of the Sons.

She knew better than to reveal who she was without a brother with her; though it was a given that she should be able to trust any chapter of the Sons, there was always that chance that one of them might be a rat, or that someone unwanted might find out and decide to use the information to their advantage.

Somehow, she managed to sleep at some point during the flight. When she awoke and briefed her teammates they were only a couple of hours away from landing.

"Be careful what you say, what you do. Cameron was Irish, so the IRA might be involved here. There is a chapter of Sons here but I don't know how many of them we can trust," she told them. They nodded and listened, asking questions and posing ideas until everyone was satisfied that they knew what was going to happen.

They landed in a small airport outside of Belfast. There Remy said goodbye to their pilot and paid her. Rogue could do nothing but glare, so it was Kitty who got them a ride into the city. They filed onto a bus and sat among the locals and tourists, blending in easily in the civilian clothes they wore over their uniforms.

It was a half hour ride into the city before they could get off the bus. Rogue spotted a café and insisted that they stop for a bite to eat and a cup of caffeine. None of them really wanted to protest, so they chose a booth near the back and ordered breakfast and coffee.

After a while Ariana felt eyes on the back of her head. She did not turn around, but instead asked Remy, who sat across from her, what the people sitting behind them looked like. He did not immediately look, instead waiting a few minutes before casually leaning back and placing an arm over Rogue's shoulders, looking over Ariana's head as he did. Rogue glowered at him, but a small smile threatened to break through when she looked away.

"There's about five o' dem, rough lookin', like yo' family," he grinned at her.

"Are they wearing cuts?" she asked. They kept their voices low so as not to be overheard, but the group sitting a few booths behind them was being loud enough for them both.

"Oui, vests say Sons o' Anarchy," he said, giving her a look. She swore under her breath.

"How many of them are looking over here?" she wanted badly to look at the group behind them, but she knew that would only draw unwanted attention.

"Jus' de one, most o' de time. Sometimes de others all look, jus' t' see what got de homme's attention," he grinned at Ariana. "Dat one got his eye one y', Ari." She made a face at him and waved a waitress over.

"We're ready for a check, please," she said. Kurt began to protest, but she shot him a look and he fell silent.

They paid for their meals and stood to leave. Ariana let the others go ahead of her; she wanted to keep an eye on the Belfast Sons for as long as possible. They made it outside, and Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. Then the bell on the door jingled merrily again and she turned to see the young man who had been staring at her. She glanced behind him and noticed his companions keeping a very close eye on them.

As soon as her own teammates realized who was with them, the closed ranks behind Ariana in their trained defensive places. Kitty and Kurt were on either side, being that they had defensive powers while Remy, Rogue, and Ariana had offensive. This strategically placed the defensive powers in the best areas to grab a teammate or two and escape if need be.

The young Son looked temporarily unsure, but he had gathered his confidence in seconds.

"I've never seen you around here," he said, looking at Ariana but speaking about all of them.

"That's because we're not from around here," Ariana replied.

"You don't look like tourists," he regarded them suspiciously. Ariana did not deem this worthy of a respectable response, so she remained silent. He took in her mismatched eyes, emerald and amethyst, her elegantly tapering ears, her purple-streaked hair. He apparently hadn't seen the unusually sharp canines that her classmates in Charming had dubbed 'fangs', as if she were a vampire.

"Don't cause any trouble," he smiled wryly, gaze roaming over Remy's red on black eyes, and the streaks of white in Rogue's hair. Kitty and Kurt, who had his image inducer on, there was nothing unusual about, but they were not spared his appraising looks. While he glanced over the rest of her group, Ariana took the chance to get a good look at him.

He was a head taller than her, only a few years older than herself at the most. He was probably only a year or two out of his prospect period. His eyes were a beautiful, smoky gray-blue, like fog over a winter blue sky. Despite the comparison, his eyes were not cold but warm, and she guessed they would be inviting if they had not been clouded with doubt.

His jaw was defined and masculine, clean-shaven and clear skinned. His hair was a dark russet color, red-brown-black. He had no clearly visible tattoos, though Ariana knew that beneath the cut and the clothing there was at least one. His skin wasn't overly tanned, but it was not pale like her own. She noticed his eyes swerving back toward her and composed her face into a neutral mask.

"Are you done?" Ariana asked when his eyes returned to her.

"Eyes are on you," he said cryptically before retreating inside the restaurant. Ariana turned back to her companions and rolled her eyes.

"That was like, totally weird," Kitty announced as they walked away from the café.

"Ja," Kurt agreed. "Vhat did he mean by that, Ari?"

"He means they're watching us. It would be just our luck that we've managed to catch the eye of SAMBEL by buying coffee," she rolled her eyes again. "Let's just get a hotel and go over our plans again."

They got two motel rooms, one for Kurt and Remy and one for the girls. The rooms were theirs for the week, very cheap, thanks to Remy's dazzling of the counter girl, at only twenty dollars a night. This used up most of their money, but they could stock up on food at the continental breakfast, and meals weren't expensive at the café they had found. They gathered in the girls' room, sitting in various places with the door bolted and the curtains closed.

"Whoever called Gemma was in contact with the club, which means the IRA or SAMBEL," she said.

"Should we, like, check out some adoption places? You know, like, just in case?" Kitty suggested. Ariana nodded. They went over ideas, keeping some and trashing most, until they were somewhat satisfied. By this time night had fallen and it was getting late. They planned on rising early in the morning, so Remy and Kurt returned to their room and the girls readied for bed.

"This is, like, so complicated," Kitty said as she put away her toothbrush.

"Yeah, but it's worth it," Rogue nodded as she spoke.

"It's mostly luck that let us see roughly where Abel is. I think we're just going to have to hope that luck keeps up," Ariana said.

They headed out the next morning as the sun was rising, used to waking up and moving early. The team spent all day scouring orphanages and adoption agencies, but nothing turned up. When the sun began to set they called it quits, heading back to the café with heavy hearts. Kitty produced her laptop from her bag and began typing away madly while they waited for their food to arrive.

"Vhat are you doing, Kitty?" Kurt asked, looking over her shoulder at the screen.

"I'm going over all the places in town to make sure we haven't, like, missed any," she said.

"And?" Ariana asked, hoping there would be one.

"There is something… It's this, like, really small church place," she turned the screen around them to show the picture.

"You're right. We haven't been there yet," she agreed.

"Should we go after we eat?" Rogue asked. Ariana nodded.

"It'll be the last stop before we turn in for the night," she said. They were seated in the same booth as before, and when Ariana looked up she saw a few members of SAMBEL seated in their booth. Only three, this time, but the same young man was among them, discreetly watching them.

"God dammit," she breathed, suddenly angry with him. Remy followed her gaze for a fleeting moment and had to hold back a laugh. She kicked him under the table and he sucked in a breath, but just shook harder with his silent laughter.

"Fuck you," she told him, smirking.

* * *

The SAMBEL members left before Ariana and her companions did. The young man dropped a bit of folded up paper on their table as he passed without looking at any of them. Ariana snatched it before anyone else could. She tucked it into a pocket and glared at Remy.

"Y' not gonna open it?" he asked her innocently.

"Not right now," she said. He fake-pouted until they paid for their food and left. Kitty directed them toward the small church, but they had only gone halfway into the more run-down, abandoned back roads of Belfast when Remy called a halt.

"Someone's followin' us," he whispered. They formed a defensive unit, back to back in fighting stances. It only took a few minutes for two small canisters to roll toward them, already spouting white gas.

"Aw, hell," Rogue complained, kicking one of the canisters. It flew into an alley across the street. The other one began to spin wildly as the pressure inside it increased. Kitty kicked it carefully, sending it in the same direction as the other. The gas billowed from the alley, blown toward them by the slight evening breeze.

"Hell!" Rogue repeated. Before they could do anything, they were surrounded and outnumbered by Kevlar suited men in gas masks. Ariana immediately summoned up her flame. Rogue took off a glove, and Remy charged one of his infinite number of playing cards. Just as one man raised his weapon toward them, he tossed the card and blew a hole in their ring. The others immediately moved in, not yet shooting.

The team fought back, but they lacked masks and were being affected by the gas. Ariana slowly found it harder to keep controlling, let alone creating, her dark fire. Through her foggy mind she felt something sharp pierce her right thigh very close to her hip. Looking down, she saw red feathers attached to her leg. She plucked them out, realizing that it was a dart.

Another point of pain blossomed in her left shoulder. She reached back and found another dart. The world tipped and spun around her, and Ariana found it nearly impossible to stay upright. The fire she had already created was out of control now, and she struggled to bring it back, tone it down some.

Something covered her eyes and wrapped tightly around her head, blinding her. With her sight gone, the smell of the gas burning her nostrils and the sound of fire and heavy boots filling her ears, Ariana felt herself begin to slide into blackness.

Just before she fell, she tossed her phone, knowing that they couldn't take all of her friends. It was a small hope, but whoever was left would find her phone. They could call the club, they could call the mansion.

Allies would not be long in coming.

* * *

**I am really liking my newest OC for this story. I think you'll get a better look at him next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's so cold! The high today where I live was -5 with at least -20 wind chill, probably more. **

* * *

Kitty woke up to a rather nice view of the gray sky. She lay on the stone ground for a few minutes, slowly beginning to wonder why she was able to see the sky. As the seconds ticked by, she realized that the surface she was laying on was very hard, and she was cold and damp.

It wasn't raining, instead it seemed to be only misting. Shouldn't there be snow? Then she remembered that they were in Ireland. That memory brought back the events from the previous night. She quickly forced herself to her feet, drawing her coat close around her and taking in her surroundings.

She was in an alley, tucked away from the empty road. Her back hurt from lying on the hard ground all night, but that was the least of her worries. She cautiously emerged from the alley, looking around the deserted street. A second look told her otherwise.

A lone figure knelt in the middle of the wet road, its back to her so she could not at first make out who it was. As she moved closer she deemed the figure male, shoulders sagging in some strong emotion akin to grief and defeat. Another few steps and she recognized the trench coat favored by Remy LeBeau.

"Remy?" she whispered, voice hoarse from breathing in the gas during the previous night's fight. He did not move.

"Remy," she repeated, circling around him. She stopped short when she saw what he was holding. A single, black glove, identical to the pair Rogue was wearing. An image flashed through Kitty's mind; Rogue, pulling off one of her gloves. Her vision cleared and she knelt in front of Remy.

"Maybe… Maybe she's here, somewhere, in an alley like me," she suggested feebly, the valley girl accent drained from her by exhaustion and stress.

"Non. No, petite chaton. They took her. She's gone… Ma Chérie…" his voice was thickened by defeat. Kitty looked down at the glove despairingly. Something caught her eye in the weak winter sunlight, and she looked up to see what it was. A cell phone lay in the gutter, the screen cracked but still intact. Kitty snatched it up, instantly recognizing the black and silver design. She flipped it open to access the contacts list.

"Remy, it's Ariana's cell phone. We – we have to call –" she stopped for a moment, looking down at the name she had stopped on. "Remember? She told us to call him if – if there was trouble like this," Remy looked at the number listed, labeled simply in the bold black letters that went with the layout: **Clay**.

* * *

The ringing of a cell phone startled them all, but it was quickly picked up.

"Hey—"

"I don't really know how to say this, so I'll go with 'we need help and this is the number we were told to call'," the distressed voice of a teenage girl cut off Clay's words. He was taken aback for a moment; after looking at the caller id, he had expected to be answering a call from Ariana.

"Who is this?" he asked suspiciously. Instantly the rest of the boys quieted down and listened.

"My name is Kitty Pryde. I'm an X-Man, and I live at the Institute with Ariana,"

"Why do you have her phone?" Clay interrupted Kitty before she could say more. He put it on speaker as she replied.

"I – I'm following her directions. She told us to call you if anything went wrong," she stumbled over her words slightly as they tumbled through the phone.

"What's going on?" Clay's voice was instantly sharper.

"We were…attacked. I don't know who it was. They took her, and Rogue and Kurt. Just Remy and I are left," she told him timidly. "Where are you?" he asked quickly.

"B—Belfast," she stuttered. Clay swore.

"What were you doing there?" he demanded to know.

"Abel," she told him. "She saw something that told us he was here somewhere."

"What did she see?" Jax moved to stand beside Clay, staring hard at the phone.

"I – I can't remember… A man, I think. He had a vest on. Yeah, a cut, she called it. It was the same as the ones you all were wearing when you dropped her off, but it said Belfast," she explained quickly. "She told the fire to show her where Abel was. It showed us a bunch of stuff, but that was the clearest picture."

"Listen, Kitty. Stay where you are. We're boarding a plane to Belfast right now. We will find you," Clay managed to keep his temper in check, remembering that he was not angry at Kitty. Right now he wasn't even angry at Ariana. Kitty consented and he ended the call.

There was no need for explanation; the others had heard everything, and, judging from their grim, determined expressions, they were ready to kill whoever had taken their family.

* * *

Ariana woke feeling very damp and cramped. She uncurled from the ball she had been in, but the moment she moved a sharp pain pierced her head. She lay still on, as she slowly came to realize, a cold concrete floor. She listened intently, hearing only her own breathing. In the silence it seemed loud.

She didn't know how much time passed before she could move without the pain in her head. She stood up and put her hands out, feeling how small the space was: six feet by six feet. She could see nothing in the dark space, devoid completely of light. She felt every inch of the walls around her, searching for something, any little ridge that might suggest a door or a window slot. The walls were perfectly smooth and blank, denying her any hope of light or contact.

When she was through with her search, she sat wearily in a corner against the two walls. She put out a hand and willed her fire to come. When it didn't, she retreated into her mind. She scoured her mind, searching for the heat that represented her fire. When she did not find it, Ariana nearly panicked. She forced herself to breathe, calming herself and trying to think logically.

She abruptly remembered the events of the previous night, and a whole cast of questions and worries threatened to overwhelm her. Again, she forced her breathing to slow and her thoughts to calm. Time passed in this way, Ariana getting lost in her thoughts and keeping herself calm, for an undeterminable period of time until a shrieking creak assaulted her ears and bright, artificial light flooded the space.

She had to close her eyes against the sudden, blinding light, and the next thing she knew she was being hauled to her feet and half shoved, half carried along a too-clean smelling corridor. Two sets of footsteps echoed around them; Ariana's feet were bare. By the time she was able to open her eyes without more of the piercing pain in her head, she found herself roughly lifted onto a freezing metal slab and strapped down.

She began to struggle, her mind taking too long to process each thought and action. She was left alone for a few quiet moments before she heard a door open and shut and a whole team of people in white coats came into her field of vision. A spike of fear pushed adrenaline into her bloodstream, but her eyes held rage-filled fire.

The doctors did not speak. They moved around the room silently, apparently preparing materials for some sort of procedure.

After a few minutes during which the tension Ariana was feeling kept growing, the instruments were placed on a tray. A doctor moved to stand over her, his expression concealed by the medical mask he wore. He pressed something against Ariana's immobile arm. She felt the brief sting of a needle puncturing the skin, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Ariana felt the cold substance enter her bloodstream. It did not hurt, though she had expected it to. The doctor backed away and placed the needle in an empty bin. In only moments Ariana began to feel drowsy. Her eyelids drooped, but she fought to stay awake. Her struggles were in vain; within minutes she was completely unconscious, and the doctors gathered around her to perform their duties while two scientists looked on.

* * *

Áedán leaned against the stone wall of a small bakery, watching the deserted road dejectedly. He was waiting for the girl from the café. He knew immediately when he caught sight of her features that she was a mutant. A mutant just like him.

He had no physical mutation; instead, he had a sort of sixth sense. Every once in a while a flash of an image would accompany the feeling, but he rarely practiced it. Instead he chose to ignore the ability, hide it away; a fact he was coming to regret now as he recalled his displaced sense of dread from the previous night. His brothers knew about his mutation, and therefore tried all night to get it out of him what the feeling meant.

The only problem was that though he often received feelings about certain things or courses of action, he sometimes felt things for happenings that he knew nothing about, or feelings he was unable to decipher, mainly due to lack of information. This was one of those times. He turned as a voice spoke softly from behind him.

"I don't think the lass is comin' brother," the voice held a heavy accent, indicating it was a native speaker. Áedán recognized it as one of his SAMBEL brothers.

"Yeah," he said, pushing off the wall and walking toward the three bikes parked a few feet away. With his gaze on the ground, he was able to spot a slip of paper crumpled and lying forlornly in the gutter. He bent and picked it up, unfolding the paper slowly. His heart skipped as he recognized the note he had left the girl the last time he had seen her.

There was a small, neat hole punched through the upper right corner of it. Beside the hole was a spot of blood. He looked at the empty street as though trying to see the events that he instinctively knew had taken place the night before, though what had happened he could not conceive. He only knew that the American girl his sub-conscious had pushed him towards had been hurt.

"What is it, Áedán?" another man asked, coming to stand beside him. Wordlessly he held up the note.

"Going to find her?" he asked. Áedán nodded tightly, anger rising within him. He glanced around once more before tucking the bit of paper into a pocket inside his vest. They headed to their bikes and disappeared, intent on finding the American mutants.

* * *

Kitty and Remy waited in the dining area of the hotel. It was only seven o'clock in the morning, so they were taking part in the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. Kitty picked half-heartedly at her waffle. In front of Remy sat an untouched cup of coffee, slowly growing cold while they waited for SAMCRO.

Remy glanced up at the sound of footsteps on the tile in the lobby. Kitty noticed this and turned in her seat in time to see four men and one woman entering the dining area. Since Kitty and Remy were the only two in the room, it was obvious who the group was looking for. The clothing and the general appearance and attitude of the SAMCRO group identified them to the two mutants. Kitty stood up, but Remy remained seated, eyes without a glimmer of hope.

"Umm…hi," she said. Two of the men took positions on either side of the doors. The other two sat down across from Kitty and Remy, and the woman pulled up a chair. Introductions were made and they got directly to business.

"Tell us what happened. Start at the beginning, your arrival," Clay said.

"Well, we got here, and we came to this hotel and got a room. We were, like, really hungry so we went to the café down the street. There were some guys from the club here there, and one of them kept staring at Ari," she told them.

"Wait, explain," Jax interrupted.

"Their vests said Belfast, and they mostly ignored us until this one guy just started staring at Ari. She wasn't even facing him, but maybe he, like, saw her ears or something. Remy told her that he kept staring. We left and he told us some stuff, I think he said 'eyes are on you' or something like that.

Anyway, we didn't think about it much and the next day we went and checked out almost every adoption place we could find. I think we missed a few, but we went back to the café and the guy gave Ari a note. She didn't open it right then, so we don't know what it said. After we ate we were going to check out one more place, some church place. It was just down the street from where we were, but we didn't make it.

Some guys attacked us. They threw a couple of gas canisters toward us and we kicked them into an alley, but the wind was blowing toward us. We fought like crazy, everything Logan taught us was actually useful, all those Danger Room sessions, but the gas affected us and we lost. They took Rogue, Kurt, and Ariana. Remy and I got away, I guess, but I don't remember much after I tripped over the curb…" she trailed off for a moment.

"I woke up sometime this morning. Remy found Rogue's glove," he placed it on the table, but did not take his hand away from the black material. "And I found Ariana's phone. That's how I got your number," she finished and sat quietly, waiting for a response. The expressions on the men's faces, and Gemma's, were grim but determined.

"First I think we need to talk to this man you spoke of," Clay said.

* * *

**No school today 'cause of how cold it is, so it's lucky I was able to get internet to put this up. Anyway, Áedán is my new oc. I like his personality, but only a bit of it has been shown so far.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry, I know it's taken far too long for me to get this uploaded. Thank you readers and reviewers!**

* * *

Kurt sat in the corner of his cell closest to Rogue's, who sat in the same corner of her own cell. Her eyes were closed, her face twisted in a pained grimace. Kurt did not break the silence, watching his adopted sister tangle with the new psyches in her head.

Footsteps and the creaking sound of the door to the cell across from Rogue's opening made him look up. He saw the guard that usually stood by the door at the end of the hall holding the cells they sat in. The guard's wide form blocked his view for a few moments, but when he stepped away he saw Ariana on the floor in her own cell, scooting away from the door.

She remained on her back, too weak from the tranquilizers they had given her to sit up. The guard wandered back down the hall. When he was out of sight, Kurt crawled to the front of his cell and called out softly to his friend, voice still hoarse from yelling.

Ariana's head came up a few seconds after he spoke. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed onto her hands and knees to crawl to the front of her cell.

"Hey, Kurt," she said. Her voice was barely audible, hoarse and scratchy like his own. "Sorry…about all this," she began to apologize before Kurt could speak.

"Don't, Ari, ve all volunteered to come. None of us knew something like this vould happen," he told her.

"Do you think they have anyone else?" she asked.

"No, I think you're the last," it hurt for him to speak, but it would be worse not to.

"What's wrong with Rogue?" her voice filled with concern as she looked at their silent friend.

"They forced her to use her powers," he explained.

"Shit. Kurt, have you been able to use yours?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I tried. Got a major headache, but no teleporting," he replied. She swore again.

"Damn."

"Hey! Don't make me come over there," the guard brandished his gun, which appeared to shoot nothing more than tranquilizer darts. Ariana glowered at him and he glared back. Kurt moved away from the tile floor of the hall. Ariana did as well after a few seconds longer.

* * *

Kitty and Remy accompanied the Charming chapter when they met up with the guys from Belfast. Both sat in a van with Gemma, scanning the faces of the Belfast men. Kitty shook her head.

"He's not here," she sighed, sitting back in her seat. When Clay came back to the van to speak with Gemma, she relayed the message. They exchanged a few words and he went back to the group. Jax asked them about new members.

"Got one, 'bout a year out of his prospect period," Keith McGee, the president of SAMBEL, answered him.

"Where is he?" Clay asked.

"Out takin' care of some business of his own. I excused him from this meetin'," McGee said.

"I need to see him," Clay told McGee, not bothering to explain.

"I don't know when he'll be back, Clay,"

"Call him," Jax interrupted the two, becoming frustrated with the conversation. McGee pulled out a cell phone and dialed a few numbers. It took only a few seconds before the phone was picked up.

"Áedán, brother, I need y' back here now. Charming's here wantin' to talk to y'," the man on the other line answered McGee, who nodded as he spoke.

"Alright," he said and hung up. "We can meet three days from now, and Áedán will be with us," he told Clay.

"Good. Same place and time," Clay set down the place and time, then the men returned to their various bikes. Clay pulled up beside Gemma and filled her in, then looked at Kitty and Remy.

"We're coming back in a few days, and they'll have more of their members with them. Hopefully then we'll find out who was so interested in our girl," he told them.

* * *

The remaining members of the X-Men were loaded into the X Jet and already soaring across the Atlantic Ocean. Xavier had briefed his team on the current situation, though most of them already knew much of it.

What they had not known was that their three friends had been snatched by an unknown foe. Logan, however, thought he had an idea of who might be behind the assault. Laura was even surer. She was also among the teenagers making up the team, and for that she was glad. If they had not placed her on the team she would have had to find an alternative route to the same destination.

It would not have been hard, but she was still grateful that she did not have to deceive her new family. It was an odd sensation to the troubled girl, this family, but it was one that she enjoyed and found herself to be very protective of.

No matter the reason, she was angry that the three X-Men had been taken, and she was especially ready and eager to dispatch their captors.

* * *

Áedán pulled away from his so far fruitless search reluctantly, and only because McGee had ordered him to meet with SAMCRO. Over the few days since their last meeting the mother chapter had been busy, or so he had heard.

Áedán knew that the son of Jax Teller was somewhere in Belfast, and he guessed they were here for the baby. Áedán and the rest of SAMBEL parked their bikes down the road from the Charming group and met them in the middle. He noticed a van parked further away, possibly containing another person.

"You alright?" one of the Irish brothers asked him. He nodded.

"Let's just get this over with," he cast his gaze over each of the Americans briefly before settling on the man he knew to be called Clay. Clay was also watching him, but he turned and whispered something to a dark–haired man beside him.

The man walked quickly to the truck and spoke with the people inside. After only a few seconds he returned to Clay and nodded. Clay's eyes returned to Áedán then, and he gestured the young man forward.

"Áedán, right?" Clay asked. He nodded. "You wouldn't happen to have seen an American girl around, black and purple hair, green and purple eyes?" Clay eyed him, and Áedán knew that the Charming president knew he had seen the girl.

"Yes, I have," he replied.

"We need you to help us find her," this surprised him. He was wary as to why the Charming chapter wanted to find the girl, but he agreed. No matter the reason, it was a chance.

"She is part of SAMCRO's family," Clay answered Áedán's question with the serious face he had worn throughout their time together.

"And you? What does she mean to you?" he asked Remy and Kitty.

"Ariana chose to live with us; dat makes her family, non?" Remy replied. His voice was monotonous, but his crimson eyes betrayed the fury he felt not only at his beloved's capture, but also at the kidnapping of two other members of the Xavier family. Áedán nodded silently. He pulled out the note he had given her, and then later found, and placed it on the table between them.

Clay, Tig, and Juice were the only members of SAMCRO present. The others were working on finding Abel. Clay grabbed the note and read it, noting the spot of blood. He did not say that he doubted she would have met him. At the time, Áedán had not known that she was a Charming woman, only that she was an American tourist who appeared to also be a mutant, and that his subconscious was urging him to get to know her.

Suddenly his hand shot to his head, his fingers pressing against his temples. He closed his eyes briefly against the sudden flare of pain, only to open them moments later to curious faces. He shook his head in dismissal of the momentary headache and returned to the matter at hand.

* * *

Scott and Tabitha waited with Storm in the lobby of the hotel in which their teammates had been staying. They did not have to wait long before someone they recognized entered. Kitty and Remy were accompanied by a man wearing a SAMBEL vest and two other men, both from SAMCRO. They stood and met the group at the far end. Only the SAMBEL man tensed, but he calmed at the lack of reaction from his fellows.

"Tabby!" Kitty hugged the older girl tightly, gaining a hug in return. Scott did not smile, and neither did Remy.

"I hope you know that you are in a lot of trouble," Scott told them both. Remy did not respond.

"I think it's more important to find Ariana," Kitty said. The two men from California were Tig and Juice. Introductions and explanations were given. Eventually the rest of the team, consisting of Beast, Logan, Laura, Evan, and Jean.

There wasn't much information shared between the two groups. Instead they set a date and time for the next day. Kitty and Remy returned to the X-Men, though obviously they were under 'probation'.

"We need them there," Tig nodded toward Kitty and Remy. Logan, who had taken control of the situation, accepted this. The groups parted ways on tense but friendly terms, some more friendly than others.

* * *

Ariana shut her eyes tightly against the harsh light of the sterile room they all had come to hate. The vile man called only 'Doctor' waited for her. Her struggles were sluggish and delayed due to the injection they had previously given her. Any sound she might have made was lost, silenced by too many hours devoted only to pain and exhaustion.

By that time Ariana and her fellow captives had given up on communicating. Each of them was too drained by their experiences, though Rogue appeared worse than either Kurt or Ariana. She hardly ever moved, constantly battling new psyches or pushing down old ones.

Ariana knew it would only be a matter of time before they overwhelmed her. Her gaze snapped into focus as she was strapped down onto the familiar, icy table and the same, hated doctor stood over her.

"Hush now, darling, it will all be over soon," his voice sickened her, as did his choice of words. She had never before heard the Doctor speak, and she never wanted to again.

As the needle entered her skin, a burning sensation she had never felt the like of before took her over. She was blinded by it, deafened. Suddenly she found her voice and an intensely agonized scream was almost forcibly ripped from her. Each second lengthened toward an eternity, though in reality the pain lasted no more than ten seconds.

She felt a distant warmth returning to her body, comforting and pushing away the pain. Only then did she realize how cold she had been, shivering on the hard table. The warmth spread to the tips of her fingers before concentrating in her palms. The sensation was wondrously familiar, and Ariana clenched her hands then opened them, letting the black flames flicker to life.

They danced agitatedly in her hands, growing with each passing second. A sharp sting in her neck quickly grew to a point of bitter ice before abruptly vanishing. She cried out as the fire died away, melting in her skin and retreating with the warmth, leaving her empty and frozen in its absence.

* * *

**Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, I know it's been quite a while. Well, I don't really have any excellent excuses - the only ones I can use are end of school chaos and the fact that my life hasn't really slowed down much since summer started. Anyway, here's chapter eleven!**

* * *

"Rogue has been using her powers a lot lately. The professor used them to track her," Scott told the group now gathered in the home of one of the SAMBEL members.

"Can you give us this location?" Clay nearly growled, so great was his impatience. Scott nodded.

"We can get the basic area coordinates," he confirmed.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Áedán had to restrain himself from slamming his fist on the table they were seated around, angry at this boy who seemed not to understand the urgency with which they had to move. Scott sent him a look that obviously said he did not appreciate the older man's tone, but he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a few numbers. After a few moments he began speaking.

"Professor? Yes, we need the coordinates," he said. Only a minute later he flipped the phone closed and looked around the table.

"Well?" Áedán asked. The others looked at Scott expectantly, and he told them where they had to go.

* * *

"Sir, the mutant group is approaching the ground level," the man watched a screen in front of him, anxious as to his boss's reaction. But his boss only chuckled.

"Maximum security response. Do not allow them to reach the cell blocks," he ordered.

"Yes sir," the man obeyed instantly, speaking into what appeared to be an intercom system and flipping a switch that set off alarms throughout the complex.

* * *

It was strange, Áedán thought, that there was no resistance to their first entering. Scott blasted a hole through the outer wall of the building and the mutants and Sons had filed inside. The group had split into groups of three and started combing through the building.

Alarms were going off and lights flashing, but they had yet to meet didn't last long for any of them, however, as after only a few minutes they were blocked by an armed fighting force. Logan halted his group just short of turning a corner.

Áedán and Remy prepared themselves before Gambit sent one of his cards drifting around the corner. A shout was heard just before the explosion, and the trio leaped out before the smoke had cleared. Many soldiers had been wounded or killed by the explosion, making things quite a bit easier for the group.

They fought their way through fiercely, driven by the strong desire to rescue those that they loved. Some of the soldiers fled at the sight of the Wolverine's feral expression, or the rage burning in Gambit's ruby eyes. Áedán's expression was empty of emotion, cold and absent as he methodically shot down the guards keeping him from his goal.

The halls were littered with bodies when they had finished, and they left the scene without any regret. A few minutes more of walking and Áedán abruptly changed course, swerving down a hallway that was not part of the duo's original path.

"What're ya doin', kid?" Logan growled, pausing at the crossroad.

"This is the direction we need to take," Áedán said confidently. Logan sniffed the air, but he couldn't pick up anything besides the sterile smell that filled the entire complex. He and Remy followed after the Son though, knowing his intuitive mutation would lead them in the right direction.

After a few minutes, Logan finally caught something. He picked up the pace a bit, and they rounded and corner only to come face to face with a nervous looking guard and a closed door. Áedán wasted no time, drawing his handgun and firing even before Logan's enhanced reflexes could take action. He gave his partner a considering look, slowly gaining a new view of the biker.

Áedán opened the door and they were met with a short hallway, lined with barred cells. A hoarse voice reached their ears.

"Logan?" Kurt sat up in his cell, his tail moving tiredly for a moment. Rogue didn't move from her place, huddled in the corner closest to Kurt's cell with her knees drawn up.

"Hey, Elf," Logan said in a voice that wasn't quite as gruff as usual. Remy rushed forward at the sight of Rogue, carefully slipping a small explosive into the lock of the cell. The door swung open and he was at her side, brushing a hand over her hair gently.

"Oh, ma cheríe," he whispered sadly before gathering her up into his arms. He looked down at her face, free of its usual dark makeup but still much paler than it should have been. She lay limp in his arms, conscious but unaware of most of what was happening. Logan opened Kurt's cell and steadied him on his feet.

"Elf, you know where Ariana is?" he asked. Kurt shook his head.

"They took her to the room…" he whispered.

"Where is that?" Áedán questioned. Kurt glanced up at the taller man, indecision showing in his gaze. But after a moment his golden eyes hardened and he started back out of the hall.

"Follow me," he told them.

* * *

The doctor looked down at his unconscious patient. The power she held was not nearly as great as the first female he had been brought, but it was still a shocking amount. He was finished for the day, and turned the table to wheel it out of the room. The subject would be placed in a new cell block, in a different section from the old one.

As he reached the door, the alarms began to sound and instructions were given for various personnel over the complex-wide intercom system. The doctor rushed from the room, heading for the safe room designated for just such times.

Mere minutes after he left, Kurt and the others arrived at the room. Kurt was unwilling to enter the room, and none of the men were about to force the boy. The three older men went into the room.

Logan's lip curled at the sight and smell. Whatever they used to clean the rooms tried and failed to hide the faint scent of old blood and chemicals. The Wolverine also caught the scent of Ariana, though it was diluted by whatever they had used on her. It was accompanied by another very recent scent.

Áedán started for the door at the same time that Logan did, both following their own mutations. Their paces quickened with each passing second, with Kurt jogging to keep up and Remy simply lengthening his strides. It didn't take long for them to catch up to their quarry, the first sight being the doctor turning a corner out of view.

Logan growled but allowed Áedán to go ahead of him. The doctor spun at the sound of footsteps, shoving the wheeled table further down the hall as he did. Áedán's heart jumped as he caught side of familiar black and purple hair. His gaze was only distracted for a moment before it snapped back to the doctor.

"You motherfucker," he raised the gun, but abruptly changed his mind and lowered it. A glimmer of hope showed in the doctor's face, but Áedán fired and the man went down clutching his bloodied knee. Logan was about to intervene, but stopped when the Son spoke.

"Let me deal with him. Get Kurt out," Logan wanted to refuse, but he had seen the expression worn by Áedán before. Remy nodded to Logan; they both left, taking their newly freed friends to safety and allowing Áedán to deal with the current problem.

During his brief distraction, the doctor struggled to his feet and attempted to gain distance with his one good leg.

Multiple shots resounded through the hall, each followed by harsh cries from the doctor, who had fallen to the floor only a step away at the man had hurt the American girl, and that knowledge filled Áedán with rage. He wanted him begging for death by the time he was ready to give it to him. It would only take a few more well-placed shots, but a soft voice stopped him.

"Stop," the voice was one he recognized, despite the hoarse and scratchy quality that had been added.

"He did this to you," Áedán looked up at Ariana, the table angled against the wall in such a way that she was able to see him.

"Let me up," she said. Áedán stepped around the doctor and undid the straps holding Ariana down. He supported her as she stood, and helped her away from the table.

"Give me the gun," she told him. He only hesitated a moment before handing it over. Ariana pushed him away, managing to stand straight long enough to aim the gun with both hands. Her expression was one of determination and satisfaction as she tightened her finger on the trigger.

"Fucking die, you bastard," she whispered before pulling the trigger. The bullet hit its target, making a clean entrance directly between the man's eyes and utterly destroying the back of his skull. Ariana stood for a few seconds longer before she collapsed. Áedán caught her and lifted her into his arms.

They met little resistance on their way back out of the building. From the section where Scott had blasted the hole in the wall, they found their way back to their companions. It seemed Ariana and Áedán were the last two to emerge, and they rushed to the waiting jet. They were in the air before the two of them had even been seated.

Upon seeing Ariana, the two SAMCRO members who had accompanied the group rushed over. Áedán reluctantly handed the unconscious girl over to them, but he maintained a place close by.

He did take the time to glance around the interior of the jet, seeing a few huddled newcomers that had obviously been rescued. He also saw Remy, his unwavering gaze fixed on Rogue, who he cradled gently in his arms.Áedán wished he could do the same for Ariana, but knew it was not his place.

How he had developed such strong feelings for her in such a short time he could not fathom, but he guessed it was something to do with his mutation, the inexplicable pull he felt that urged him toward her. All he knew for sure was that after only a few days of knowing her, he would do anything for her.

* * *

**And there you are! Not entirely sure how happy I am with this one - it seems a bit rushed to me. But let me know how you like it. I swear I haven't and won't give up on this story, even if it does take a little bit to update. Thank you everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and favorited!  
**


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